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WALKS    IN    PARIS 


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WALKS   IN   PARIS 


BY 

AUGUSTUS  J.  C.  HARE 

AUTHOR     OF   "walks    IN    LONDON,"    "  WALKS   IN    ROME,"    "FLORENCE,"    "  VENICE, 
"studies  in   RUSSIA,"    "DAYS  NEAR   PARIS,"    ETC.,    ETC. 


"  QUACUMQUE    INGREDIMUR    IN    ALIQUA..I    HISTORIAM    VESTIGIUM 
PONIMUS."  CiCERO  de  Fin.  v. 


36^^ 


GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  AND  SONS 

New  York  :  9  Lafayette  Place 
London  and  Glasgow 


AUGUSTUS  J.  C.  HARE'S  WORKS. 

IN  12mo,  CLOTH  VOLUMES. 


Walks  in  Paris.    50  Illustrations.     One  volume,  $3.00. 

Days  near  Paris.     42  Illustrations.     One  volume,  $2.50. 

Studies  in  Russia.     Illustrated.     One  volume,  $2.00. 

Wanderings  in  Spain.     Illustrated.     One  volume,  $1.25. 

Walks  in  Rome,  $3.50. 

Walks  in  London.     Illustrated.    Two  volumes,  $5.00. 
Two  volumes  in  one,  S3. 50. 

Cities  of  Northern  and  Central  Italj'.  With  Maps  and  Il- 
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Days  near  Rome.     With  many  illustrations.     S3. 50. 

Florence.     With  Map  and  Illustrations.     S'-oo- 

Venice.     With  Map  and  Illustrations.     Sr-C'O. 

Sketches  in  Holland  and  Scandinavia.    Illustrated.    Si-o^- 

Memorials  of  a  Quiet  Life.  With  Portraits  on  Steel.  Two 
volumes,  $5.00.    Two  volumes  in  one,  Sa-oo. 

The  Life  and  Letters  of  Frances  Baroness  Bunsen.  With 
Portraits  on  Steel.  Two  volumes,  $5.00.  Two  vol- 
umes in  one,  $3.00. 


To  be  had  of  all  BooJcsellers,  or  will  he  sent,  pre-paid, 
on  receipt  of  price  by  the  Publishers. 

GEORGE   ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS, 

9  Lafayette  Place,  New  York. 


Copyright,  1888, 
Bv  Joseph  L.  Blamire. 


PREFACE. 

A  BETTER  book  than  this  might  easily  have  been  pub- 
lished, but  no  one  else  has  tried  to  write  anything  of  the 
kind,  and  I  have  done  my  best.  This  volume  and  "  Days 
near  Paris"  have  been  the  conscientious  hard  work  of  two 
years.  As  in  my  "  Cities  of  Italy,"  the  descriptions  are 
my  own,  but,  for  opinions  and  comments,  1  have  quoted 
from  others,  choosing  those  passages  which  seem  pleasant 
to  read  upon  the  spot,  and  likely  to  impress  what  is  seen 
upon  the  recollection.  The  woodcuts,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, are  from  my  own  sketches,  transferred  to  wood 

by  Mr.  T.  Sulman.  ,  x    ^    x 

Augustus  J.  C.  Hare. 


PUBLISHERS'   NOTE. 

In  this  Edition  the  numerous  citations  from  French 
writers  of  history  or  memoirs^  in  illustration  of  the  vari- 
ous historical  edifices  that  still  remai?t,  have  been  translated 
into  E?iglish,  and  contain  most  valuable  information  respect- 
ing the  France  of  pre-revolutionary  times. 


CONTENTS 


•♦• 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY         i 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   TUILERIES    AND   THE   LOUVRE l8 

CHAPTER   H. 

IN   OLD    PARIS — FROM   THE   RUE   ST.  HONORÉ  TO  THE  QUARTIER 

DES    HALLES    AND    QUARTIER    DU    TEMPLE  .  .  .    Io6 

CHAPTER   HI. 

THE    MARAIS    AND    NEIGHBORHOOD    OF   THE    HÔTEL    DE   VILLE   .    l6l 

CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   FAUBOURG   ST.    ANTOINE   AND    PÈRE   LACHAISE  .  .  .    234 

CHAPTER   V. 

THE   ISLANDS   IN  THE   SEINE 25I 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CHIEFLY   IN   THE   FAUBOURG   ST.    MARCEL  ....    312 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   VII. 

PAGE 
THE    UNIVERSITY — LE    QUARTIER    LATIN      ....  333 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    FAUBOURG    ST.    GERMAIN 386 

CHAPTER   IX. 

LUXURIOUS   MODERN   PARIS 438 

CHAPTER  X. 

INDUSTRIOUS    MODERN    PARIS      .  .  .  .  .  .  .    475 

INDEX 519 


INTRODUCTION. 

ALMOST  all  educated  Englishmen  visit  Paris  some  time 
x\  in  their  lives,  yet  few  really  see  it.  They  stay  at  the 
great  neighboring  capital  to  enjoy  its  shops  and  theatres 
and  to  drive  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  and  they  describe  it 
as  a  charming  modern  city,  from  which  the  picturesqueness 
of  an  historic  past  has  been  utterly  obliterated.  But,  whilst 
it  is  true  that  much  has  perished,  those  who  take  the  trouble 
to  examine  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  many  remnants  of 
past  times  still  exist,  more  interesting  than  those  in  any  pro- 
vincial town,  because  the  history  of  France,  more  especially 
of  modern  France,  is  so  completely  centred  in  its  capital. 

"  It  was  at  Paris  anr"  ''ersailles,  its  royal  suburb,  that  the  his- 
tory of  France  was  maùc,  from  the  time  of  Louis  XIII.  Paris 
sends  her  rays  uvc.  France  and  absorbs  it.  All  the  memoirs 
and  reports  speak  of  Paris." — Albert  Babcau. 

"  France  is  to-day  the  country  of  the  world  where  the  capital 
presents  the  mos-  ^  liferent  aspect  from  the  rest  of  the  nation. 
Thirty-five  millions  of  provincials  are  confronted  by  a  city,  or 
rather  by  a  little  State,  superior  in  population  to  Greece,  Servia, 
Denmark,  Norway,  and  some  other  more  or  less  constitutional 
kingdoms.  This  republic,  enclosed  in  the  greater,  is  represented 
by  an  aggressive  assembly  which  demands,  every  day,  more  com- 
plete autonomy.  It  boasts  of  being  cosmopolitan  and  does  not 
despair  of  breaking,  some  day,  some  of  the  bonds  which  subordi- 
nate its  lot  to  that  of  the  whole  country.  Its  preponderance,  al- 
though opposed  by  the  laws,  has  long  been  favored  by  politics, 
and  after  having  imposed  three  or  four  revolutions  on  the  prov- 
inces, it  can  not  console  itself  for  the  loss  of  this  privilege. 
Every  year,  a  powerful  party  celebrates  the  anniversary  of  the  day 


2  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

when  this  little  State,  exasperated  by  a  siege  of  four  months, 
turned  its  arms  against  the  national  will.  Even  manners  seem  to 
perpetuate  the  causes  of  misunderstanding  between  the  two  un- 
equal fractions  of  the  country.  It  is  in  vain  that  the  population 
of  the  capital  is  incessantly  renewed  by  provincial  elements,  to 
such  an  extent  that  of  every  ten  Parisians  five  at  least  belong  to 
families  that  have  their  origin  elsewhere.  In  breathing  the  air  of 
Paris  the  same  individual  changes  his  character  and  his  languages, 
he  forgets  his  old  bonds,  believes  that  he  has  escaped  from  the 
tyranny  of  trivial  and  contradictory  incidents,  and  flings  himself 
headlong  into  the  world  of  general  ideas.  Paris  is  the  Holy  Land 
of  abstractions,  where  every  thing  is  judged  by  principles,  and 
where  the  flower  of  civilization  is  plucked  without  consideration 
of  root  or  branch.  To  Paris  we  owe  our  reputation  as  a  people 
of  theories  and  humanitarian  maxims.  From  its  habit  of  handling 
ideas  rather  than  facts,  the  capital  views  the  rest  of  France  from 
a  distance,  from  above,  and  under  an  abstract  form.  The  spec- 
tator, attentive  to  the  drama  played  on  the  front  of  the  stage, 
scarcely  distinguishes,  at  the  back  of  the  theatre,  a  confused 
crowd  which  he  distinguishes  by  the  convenient  and  vague  ex- 
pression of  the  'masses,'  that  is  a  dust  heap  of  individuals,  an 
aggregation  of  the  monads  of  which  Leibnitz  speaks." — Rene 
Belloc,  *'  Revue  des  Deux-Mondes,"  Ixx. 

Peter  the  Great  said  of  Paris  that  if  he  possessed  such 
a  town  he  should  be  tempted  to  burn  it  down,  for  fear  it 
should  absorb  the  rest  of  his  empire  ;  and  the  hearts  of  all 
Frenchmen,  and  still  more  of  all  Frenchwomen,  turn  to 
their  capital  as  the  wished-for,  the  most  desirable  of  resi- 
dences, the  most  beautiful  of  cities,  the  intellectual,  com- 
mercial, and  political  centre  of  their  country. 

"  Francigenae  princeps  populosa  Lutetia  gentis 
Exerit  immensum  clara  sub  astra  caput. 
Hie  cives  numerum,  ars  pretium,  sapientia  finem 

Exuperant,  superant  thura  precesque  Deos. 
Audiit  obstupuitque  hospes,  factusque  viator 
Vidit,  et  baud  oculis  credidit  ipse  suis." 

Julius  Caesar  Scaliger. 

Long  ago  Charles  V.  declared  "  Lutetia  non  urbs,  sed 


ATTRACTION  OF  PARIS  3 

orbis,"  and  now  Paris  covers  an  area  of  thirty  square  miles, 
and  is  the  most  cosmopolitan  town  in  Europe,  the  city  to 
which  members  of  every  nationality  are  most  wont  to  resort, 
for  interest,  instruction,  and  most  of  all  for  pleasure. 

**  J'ai  voulu  voir  Paris  ;  les  fastes  de  l'histoire 
Célèbrent  ses  plaisirs,  et  consacrent  sa  gloire,"* 

is  an  impulse  which  every  day  brings  throngs  of  strangers 
to  its  walls.  To  most  of  these  the  change  from  their  or- 
dinary life,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  "  distraction  "  of 
Paris,  forms  its  chief  charm,  and  Londoners  delight  in  the 
excess  of  its  contrast  to  all  they  are  accustomed  to.  But 
to  Frenchmen  Paris  is  far  more  than  this  :  the  whole  coun- 
try looks  to  it  as  the  mother-city,  whilst  those  who  have 
been  brought  up  there  can  seldom  endure  a  long  separa- 
tion from  it. 

"  Paris  a  mon  cœur  dès  mon  enfance  ;  et  m'en  est  advenu 
comme  des  choses  excellentes  ;  plus  i'ay  veu,  depuis,  d'autres 
villes  belles,  plus  la  beauté  de  celte-cy  peult  et  gaigne  sur  mon 
affection  ;  ie  l'aime  tendrement,  jusques  à  ses  verrues  et  à  ses 
taches." — Montaigne. 

"  Where  can  there  be  found  a  city  with  a  physiognomy  at  once 
more  full  of  life  and  more  characteristic,  more  her  own,  more 
adapted  to  tempi  the  pencil  and  the  pen,  to  inspire  dreams  or 
pique  curiosity. 

"  Paris  lives,  has  a  face,  gestures,  habits,  whims,  and  crazes. 
Paris,  when  one  knows  it,  is  not  a  city  but  a  living  being,  a  real 
person,  with  moments  of  fury,  of  folly,  of  stupidity,  of  enthu- 
siasm, of  honesty,  and  of  lucidity,  like  a  man  who  is  sometimes 
charming  and  sometimes  unbearable,  but  never  indifferent.  We 
love  or  hate  Paris,  it  attracts  or  repels,  but  never  leaves  us  cold." 
— D' Hérisson . 

"  Here,  then,  I  reflected,  is  that  city  which  for  centuries  has 
served  as  a  model  of  taste  and  fashion  to  all  Europe,  that  city,  the 
name  of  which  is  pronounced  with  veneration  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  by  the  wise  and  the  ignorant,  by  philosophers  and  dandies, 
by  artists  and  even  by  loungers  ;  a  name  that  I  knew  almost  as 

^  Voltaire. 


4  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

soon  as  my  own,  that  I  found  in  numberless  romances,  in  the 
mouth  of  travellers,  in  my  dreams,  and  in  my  thoughts.  Here  is 
Paris,  and  I  am  in  it  !  Ah,  my  friends,  this  was  the  most  fort- 
unate moment  of  my  life.  Nothing  equals  the  vivid  sensations  of 
curiosity  and  of  impatience  that  I  then  experienced." — Karamsine. 
"  All  find  there  what  they  have  come  to  seek,  and  the  shock 
of  conflicting  interests,  and  the  contact  of  varied  industries,  of 
numerous  talents  in  a  thousand  difFçrent  branches,  of  countless 
imaginations  devoted  to  labor  and  to  research  of  all  kinds,  give 
birth  to  this  activity,  this  continual  movement  of  fabrication, 
these  prodigies  of  art  and  science,  these  daily  improvements, 
these  learned  and  ingenious  conceptions,  these  surprising  dis- 
coveries, and  these  admirable  marvels  which  seize,  astonish,  and 
captivate  us,  and  render  Paris  without  an  equal  in  the  world." — 
Balzac^  ^'^ Esquisses  Parisiennes." 

However  long  a  stay  be  made  in  Paris,  there  will  always 
remain  something  to  be  discovered.  All  tastes  may  be 
satisfied,  all  pleasures  satiated,  and  to  the  lovers  of  historic 
reminiscence  its  interest  is  absolutely  inexhaustible. 

"Paris  is  a  veritable  ocean.  Drop  in  your  sounding-line, 
and  you  will  never  learn  its  depth.  Traverse  it,  describe  it,  if 
you  will,  yet  with  whatever  care  you  traverse  or  describe  it,  and 
however  numerous  and  eager  may  be  explorers  of  this  sea,  there 
will  alwa)^s  be  found  one  spot  still  virgin  and  another  unknown, 
flowers,  pearls,  monsters,  or  something  unheard  of  or  forgotten 
by  literary  divers." — Balzac,  "  Z^  Père  Goriot  y 

"  Our  strange  city  of  Paris,  in  its  population  and  its  aspects, 
seems  to  be  a  sample  of  the  whole  world.  In  the  Marais  we  find 
narrow  streets  with  old  carved  doors,  overhanging  gables,  bal- 
conies or  verandas  that  revive  memories  of  old  Heidelberg.  The 
faubourg  St.  Honoré  where  it  opens  out  around  the  Russian 
church  with  its  white  minarets  and  golden  balls,  recalls  a  quarter 
of  Moscow.  I  know  at  Montmartre  a  picturesque,  huddled-up 
corner  that  is  genuine  Algiers.  Small  houses,  low  and  trim,  each 
with  its  own  gate  and  brass  door-plate,  and  its  own  garden,  are 
ranged  in  English  streets  between  Neuilly  and  the  Champs 
Elysees,  while  all  the  apse  of  Saint  Sulpice,  the  Rue  Ferron,  the 
Rue  Cassette,  tranquil  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  huge  towers, 
badly  paved,  with  knockers  on  every  door,  seem  brought  from 
some  provincial  ecclesiastical  city,  Tours  or  Orleans,  for  example. 


PLEASURES  OE  PART  ST  A  M  LTFE  5 

where  tall  trees,  rising  above  the  walls,  swing  to  the  sound   of 
bells  and  chants." — Daudet^  "  Le  Nabab." 

"What  is  Paris?  There  never  has  been  a  man  who  could 
answer  the  question.  If  I  had  the  hundred  mouths,  the  hundred 
tongues,  and  the  iron  voice  of  which  Homer  and  Virgil  speak, 
I  could  never  recount  half  of  its  virtues,  its  vices,  or  its  absurd- 
ities. What  is  Paris?  It  is  an  assemblage  of  contradictions,  a 
tissue  of  horrors  and  delights,  both  rendered  more  striking  by 
their  proximity.  It  is  a  land  of  superficiality  and  of  depth,  of 
great  simplicity  and  exaggerated  pretentions.  One  might  go  on 
with  such  contrasts  for  ever." — Sherlock,  1781.* 

There  are  many  points  in  Paris,  many  facts  and  phases 
of  Parisian  life,  which  interest  strangers,  whilst  they  pass 
unnoticed  by  those  w^ho  live  amongst  them,  for  differences 
always  excite  more  attention  than  similitudes,  and  no  one 
thinks  it  worth  while  to  describe  what  he  sees  every  day 
— manners,  customs,  or  appearances  with  which  he  has 
been  familiar  from  childhood.  To  a  foreigner,  especially 
to  one  who,has  never  left  his  own  country  before,  half  an 
hour  spent  on  the  boulevards  or  on  one  of  the  chairs  in  the 
Tuileries  gardens  has  the  effect  of  an  infinitely  diverting 
theatrical  performance,  whilst,  even  to  a  cursory  observer, 
it  will  seem  as  if  the  great  object  of  French  men  and  women 
in  every  class  were  to  make  life  as  easy  and  pleasant  as  pos- 
sible— to  ignore  its  present  and  to  forget  its  past  troubles 
as  much  as  they  can. 

"In  no  country  and  in  no  age  has  a  social  art  of  such  per- 
fection rendered  life  so  agreeable.  Paris  is  the  school  of  Europe, 
a  school  of  politeness  where  the  youth  of  Russia,  Germany,  and 
England  come  to  get  rid  of  their  rudeness.  When  we  know  these 
salons  we  never  quit  them,  or,  if  obliged  to  quit  them,  always 
regret  them.  '  Nothing,'  says  Voltaire,  '  is  to  be  compared  to  the 
sweet  life  that  one  leads  there  in  the  bosom  of  the  arts  and  of  a 
tranquil  and  refined  voluptuousness  ;  strangers  and  kings  have 
preferred  this  repose,  so  agreeably  occupied  and  so  enchanting,  to 

*  The  first  edition  of  Sherlock's  Lettres  d'un  Voyageur  anglais^  1781,  was 
published  in  French. 


6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

their  native  lands  and  their  thrones.  .  .  .  The  heart  grows 
tender  and  dissolves,  just  as  aromatic  substances  gently  melt  at  a 
moderate  heat  and  exhale  a  delicious  perfume,'  " —  Taine,  ''Oiigines 
de  la  France  Conle/nponiine." 

"There  is  nothing  wanting  to  the  character  of  a  Frenchman 
that  belongs  to  that  of  an  agreeable  and  worthy  man.  There  are 
only  some  trifles  surplus,  or  which  might  be  spared." — Ben. 
Franklin. 

On  the  rare  occasions  when  a  Frenchman,  destined  by 

his  nature  to  be  gay  and  animated,  allows  himself  to  be 

conquered  by  depression,  he  is  indeed  to  be  pitied. 

"  Que  je  plains  un  françois,  quand  il  est  sans  gaieté  ; 
Loin  de  son  élément  le  pauvre  homme  est  jette." — Voltaire. 

Pleasure  at  Paris  becomes  business  ;  indeed,  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  upper  classes  of  Parisians  have  no  time  for 
anything  else. 

"  Here  at  Paris  I  belong  to  myself  no  longer.  I  have  scarcely 
the  time  to  talk  with  my  husband  or  keep  up  my  correspondence. 
I  do  not  know  how  the  women  do  who  lead  this  life'  habitually  ; 
they  must  have  neither  a  household  to  keep  nor  children  to  bring 
up.'  ' — Marie  d  '  Oberkirk. 

An  Englishman  may  learn  many  a  lesson  in  outward 
forms  of  politeness  on  the  public  promenades  of  Paris,  for 
the  rules  of  good  manners  which  were  so  rigidly  inculcated 
by  Louis  XIV.  bear  their  fruit  still  ;  and  if  outward  de- 
meanor could  be  received  as  a  sign  of  inner  char- 
acter, Parisians  would  be  the  most  delightful  people  in 
the  world.  Sometimes  the  grandiloquence  of  expressions 
used  about  trifles  will  strike  the  hearer  with  amusement— 
"  Comment  Madame  veut-elle  que  sa  robe  soit  organisée  ?  " 
is  an  ordinary  inquiry  of  a  dress-maker  from  her  lady- 
employer. 

In  all  classes  the  routine  of  life  is  simplified,  and  made 
easier  than  with  us.  This  is  partly  owing  to  all  the  apart- 
ments of  a  residence  being  usually  on  the  same  level.    The 


NOMENCLATURE    OE  PARIS  7 

letting-out  of  the  houses  at  Paris  in  different  floors  is  a  com- 
fortable arrangement  which  Londoners  may  well  envy. 
Often  each  house,  as  Alphonse  Karr  says,  becomes  like  a 
mountain  inhabited  from  the  valley  to  the  summit,  in 
which  you  may  study  the  differences  of  manners  and  habits 
which  have  existed  from  all  time  between  lowlanders  and 
highlanders. 

Confined  to  the  Island  of  La  Cite'  in  its  early  existence, 
Paris  has  gone  on  spreading  through  centuries,  swallowing 
up  fields,  forests,  villages.  The  history  of  its  gradual  in- 
crease is  written  in  the  names  of  its  streets.  One  may 
almost  trace  the  limits  of  the  boundary  of  Paris  under 
Philippe  Auguste  or  Charles  V.  in  following  the  Rues  des 
Fossés-St.-Bernard,  des  Fossés-St-Victor,  des  Fossés-St- 
Marcel,  de  la  Contrescarpe-St.-Marcel,  des  Fossés-St- 
Jacques,  des  Fossés-Monsieur-le-Prince,  de  la  Contres- 
carpe-Dauphine,  des  Fossés-St.-Germain-l'Auxerrois,  des 
Fossés-Montmartre,  des  Fossés-du-Temple,  du  Rem- 
part, &c. 

Of  other  streets,  many  take  their  names  from  churches 
and  chapels  ;  some  (as  des  Grands  Augustins,  des  Blancs 
Manteaux,  des  Mathurins,  Petits-Pères  Récollets,  &c.)  from 
convents;  some  (as  Filles-du-Calvaire,  Filles-St.-Thomas, 
Nonnains  d'Yères,  Ursulines)  from  monasteries  ;  the  streets 
of  St.  Anne,  Bellefond  and  Rochechouart  from  three 
Abbesses  of  Montmartre.  A  number  of  streets  are  named 
from  hotels  of  nobles,  as  d'Antin,  de  Duras,  Garancière, 
Lesdiguières,  de  Rohan,  du  Roi  de  Sicile  ;  others  from 
nobles  themselves,  as  Ventadour,  de  Choiseul,  de  Gram- 
mont,  &c.  In  the  Marais  many  of  the  streets  are  named 
from  the  palace  of  the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul  and  its  surround- 
ings, as  the  Rue  du  Figuier-St.-Paul,  from  its  fig-garden; 
Beautreillis,  from  its  berceau  of  vines  ;  Cerisaie,  from  its 


8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

cherry-orchard  ;  Lions-St.-Paul,  from  its  menagerie.  A  vast 
number  of  streets  are  named  from  bourgeois  inhabitants, 
as  Coquilliere,  Geoffroy-Lasnier,  Gît-le-Cœur  (Gilles  le 
Queux),  Simon-le-Franc  (Franque)  ;  others  from  trades- 
men, as  Aubry-le-Boucher,  Tiquetonne,  &c.  ;  others  from 
municipal  officers,  as  Mercier,  The'venot,  &c.  ;  others  from 
officers  of  Parliament,  as  Bailleul,  Meslay,  Popincourt,  &c. 
Still  greater  in  number  are  the  streets  named  from  the 
signboards  which  formerly  hung  over  the  shops,  as  de 
l'Arbalète,  de  l'Arbre  Sec,  du  Chaudron,  du  Coq-Héron^ 
du  Coq-St.-Jean,  des  Deux-Ecus,  de  l'Hirondelle,  des  Cise- 
aux, du  Sabot,  du  Cherche-Midi,  &c.  Many  streets  take 
names  from  history  or  legends,  as  the  Rue  Pierre -Levée, 
where  a  menhir  is  believed  to  have  stood  ;  the  Rue  des 
Martyrs,  by  which  Sts.  Denis,  Rusticus,  and  Eleutherius  are 
supposed  to  have  gone  to  their  death  at  Montmartre  ;  the 
Rue  des  Frondeurs,  where  the  barricades  of  the  Fronde 
were  begun  ;  the  Rue  des  Francs-Bourgeois,  of  which  the 
inhabitants  were  free  from  taxation.  The  Rue  de  l'Enfer, 
formerly  Rue  Inférieur,  had  its  name  corrupted  in  the 
reign  of  St.  Louis,  when  the  devil  was  supposed  to  haunt 
the  Château  de  Vauvert.  The  evil  character  of  their 
inhabitants  gave  a  name  to  such  streets  as  the  Rue  Mau- 
vais-Garçons, Mauconseil,  Vidé-Gousset,  &c.  In  the 
more  modern  Paris  a  vast  number  of  streets  are  named 
from  eminent  men,  as  Bossuet,  Corneille,  Casimir-Dela- 
vigne,  d'Aguesseau,  Richelieu,  Montaigne,  &c.  ;  and  some 
from  victories,  as  Rivoli,  des  Pyramides,  Castiglione, 
d'Alger,  &c. 

As  in  London,  fashionable  life  has  moved  constantly 
from  one  quarter  to  another,  and  constantly  westwards. 

"The  life  of  Paris,  its  most  striking  feature,  was  in  1500  the 
Rue  Saint  Antoine  ;  in   1600,  the   Place  Royale  ;  in   1700,  at  the 


RELIGION  AT  PARIS  g 

Pont  Neuf  ;  in  1800,  at  the  Palais  Ro)'al.  Ail  these  places  were 
in  turns  the  boulevards.  The  soil  there  has  been  trodden  as 
passionately  as  the  asphalt  is  to-day,  beneath  the  feet  of  the  stock- 
brokers, at  the  doorway  of  Tortoni's.  In  1580  the  court  was 
at  Les  Tourncllcs,  under  the  protection  of  the  Bastille.  In  1600 
the  aristocracy  lived  at  the  famous  Rue  Royale, of  which  Corneille 
sang,  as  some  time  future  poets  will  sing  of  the  boulevards." — 
Balzac,  ''Esquisses  Parisiennes.^^ 

-The  suppression  of  the  religious  orders,  who  once 
occupied  a  third  of  the  area  of  the  town,  has  done  more 
than  anything  else  to  remove  the  old  landmarks  in  Paris, 
and  many  fine  old  monastic  buildings  have  perished  with 
their  owners,  who  were  such  a  mighty  power  before  the 
Revolution.  But,  in  later  years,  the  spirit  of  religion  seems 
to  have  died  in  France,  and  the  very  churches  are  almost 
deserted  now,  except  when  any  fashionable  preacher  is 
announced.  A  congregation  of  twenty  is  not  unusual  even 
at  high  mass  in  the  metropolitan  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame. 
The  numberless  priests  officiate  to  bare  walls  and  empty 
chairs.  Only,  in  the  parish  churches,  poor  women  are  still 
constantly  seen  buying  their  tapers  at  the  door,  and  light- 
ing them  before  the  image  of  the  Madonna  or  some 
favorite  saint,  praying  while  they  burn — a  custom  more 
frequent  in  Paris  than  anywhere  else. 

"  Every  day  four  or  five  thousand  masses  are  sung  at  fifteen 
sous  apiece.  The  Capucins  do  it  cheaper,  for  three  sous.  All 
these  numberless  masses  were  founded  by  our  good  ancestors, 
who,  for  the  sake  of  a  dream,  ordered  the  perpetual  celebration 
of  the  bloodless  sacrifice.  Every  will  founded  masses  ;  the 
omission  would  have  been  an  impiety,  and  the  priests  would 
have  refused  the  rites  of  sepulture  to  any  one  who  had  forgotten 
this  clause,  as  ancient  evidence  proves.  Enter  a  church  ;  to  right, 
to  left,  in  front,  behind,  on  each  side,  a  priest  is  consecrating  or 
elevating  the  host,  or  partaking,  or  pronouncing  the  Ite,  missa  est." 
—  Tableau  de  Paiis,  1782. 

The  great  Revolution  changed  the  whole  face  of  Paris 


lO  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

SO  completely,  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  it  as  it  was 
before  that  time  ;  but  the  many  other  revolutions  have 
passed  by,  leaving  few  marks  upon  the  town,  seldom  even 
affecting  the  daily  life  of  the  people  for  more  than  a  few 
days.     Thus  Balzac  writes  after  that  of  1830  : 

"26  September. — The  streets  have  resumed  their  accustomed 
aspect.  The  carriages  and  fashionables  roll  and  stroll  as  before, 
and,  except  a  few  trees  less,  the  boulevards  are  just  the  same. 
The  sums  raised  for  the  wounded  are  paid  into  bank,  the  wounds 
heal,  and  all  is  forgotten." — Lettres  stir  Paris. 

It  will  probably  be  remarked  that  there  are  far  fewer 
idle  waifs  in  Paris  than  in  London.  Industry  is  a  passion 
— "  Les  Français  changeraient  les  rochers  en  or,  si  on  les 
laisserait  faire,"  was  a  saying  of  the  minister  Colbert. 
**Dans  ce  Paris  plein  d'or  et  de  misère,"^  poverty  is 
seldom  apparent.  Even  in  the  Rue  de  Beaubourg  and  its 
side  streets,  which  have  the  reputation  of  being  the  poorest 
parts  of  the  city,  there  is  an  amount  of  movement  and 
activity  which  is  very  different  to  the  hunger-stricken 
inanition  of  the  poorer  quarters  in  English  cities. 

An  old  proverb  says  that,  "  Paris  is  the  paradise  of 
women,  the  purgatory  of  men,  and  the  hell  of  horses." 
But  however  true  the  first  of  these  dictums  may  be,  its  bad 
reputation  in  the  last  instance  has  long  been  a  tale  of  the 
past. 

Absorbed  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  setting  the 
fashions  of  ladies'  dress  to  the  universe,  Paris  has  prob- 
ably had  less  influence  upon  literature  or  art  than  any 
other  of  the  great  capitals. 

"This  town,  into  which,  by  so  many  gates,  every  day  and 
ceaselessly,  there  enter  cattle,  flour,  milk,  and  poets,  and  from 
which  nothing  but  manure  comes  out." — Alphonse  Karr,  "  Clovis 
Gosselin." 

*  Béranger. 


INFLUENCE   OF  PARIS  n 

But  its  political  state  has  always  penetrated  the  rest  of 
Europe;  it  has  never  had  a  revolution  without  shaking  the 
stability  of  other  European  powers. 

"  Ville  qu'un  orage  enveloppe  ! 
C'est  elle,  hélas  !  qui  nuit  et  jour 
Réveille  le  géant  Europe 
Avec  sa  cloche  et  son  tambour  ! 
Sans  cesse,  qu'il  veille  ou  qu'il  dorme, 
Il  entend  la  cité  difforme 
Bourdonner  sur  sa  tête  énorme 
Comme  un  essaim  dans  la  forêt. 
Toujours  Paris  s'écrie  et  gronde. 
Nul  ne  sait,  question  profonde, 
Ce  qui  perdrait  le  bruit  du  monde 
Le  jour  où  Paris  se  tairait." 

Victor  Hugo,  "  Les  Voix  Intérieures ^ 

The  excitable  nature  of  the  French,  their  intense  love 
of  change,  and  their  passion  for  everything  noisy,  natu- 
rally tends  to  revolutions,  and,  a  revolution  once  effected, 
everything  belonging  to  the  last  régime  is  swept  away  as 
soon  as  possible  ;  buildings  are  pulled  down,  statues 
dashed  to  pieces,  names  recalling  those  lately  adored  are 
changed  as  unendurable,  and  their  memories  are  insulted 
and  dragged  in  the  mire. 

"  In  France,  that  country  of  vanity,  as  soon  as  an  opportunity 
for  making  a  noise  presents  itself,  a  crowd  of  people  seize  it  ; 
some  act  in  honest  simplicity,  others  from  the  consciousness  of 
their  own  merits." — C/iateaubriand. 

Nowhere  is  existence  cheaper  than  in  Paris  for  those 
who  know  how  to  manage.  A  bachelor  who  does  not 
mind  mounting  five  pairs  of  stairs  may  have  a  charming 
little  apartment  for  about  i/.  a  week.  At  the  similar 
private  hotels,  an  admirably  furnished  room,  with  break- 
fast, lights,  and  attendance,  seldom  comes  to  more  than 
i/.  los.     At  the  admirable  Restaurants  Duval,  which  are 


12  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

scattered  everywhere  over  the  town,  an  excellent  dinner, 
with  coffee  and  "petit  verre,"  costs  from  2  fr.  to  2  ix.  50  c. 
Carriages  are  reasonable,  omnibuses  ply  in  all  directions 
upon  the  most  admirable  and  equitable  of  systems,  and  a 
complete  circle  of  railways  connects  the  city  with  its 
environs,  containing  a  thousand  charming  spots,  which 
the  Parisian  of  the  middle  classes  can  choose  for  the  point 
of  the  Sunday  excursion  which  he  almost  invariably  makes 
into  the  country. 

"  No  one  ever  left  Paris  with  a  light  heart;  whether  he  has 
lost  his  health  or  his  money,  whether  he  has  left  attachments 
which  it  will  be  difficult  to  replace  in  other  countries,  or  inter- 
esting acquaintances  which  it  is  impossible  to  quit  without  regret. 
Whatever  be  the  reason,  the  heart  is  always  sad  at  leaving  Paris." 
— Sherlock,  1 78 1. 

"Happy  nation!  You  have  pretty  rooms,  pretty  furniture, 
pretty  jewels,  pretty  works  of  literature,  and  you  revel  in  these 
charming  trifles.  May  you  long  prosper  with  your  pretty  fancies, 
and  perfect  further  that  pretty  persiflage  which  wins  to  you  the 
love  of  Europe,  and,  always  marvellously  pillowed,  may  you 
never  awake  from  the  pretty  dream  which  gently  lulls  in  slumber 
your  bright  light  \\iQ  "--Tableau  de  Fatis, 


DULL-USEFUL  LNFORMATION. 

Arrival. — Cabs  from  the  station,  i  fr.  and  2  fr.  :  at  night, 
2^  and  2 1  fr.  Each  piece  of  luggage  25  centimes.  Trav- 
ellers are  pressed  to  take  an  onmibus  de  famille^  but  these 
are  only  desirable  for  large  parties. 

Travellers  arriving  late  in  Paris  and  leaving  early  the 
next  morning  by  another  line,  may  do  well  to  sleep  at  one 
of  the  hotels  near  the  Gare  du  Nord,  such  as  Hotel 
du  Chemin  de  Fer  du  Nord  (good),  opposite  the  station.  Or 
they  may  prefer  a  hotel  near  the  station  of  departure,  such 
as — near  the  Gare  de  PEst  (for  Strasbourg  and  Nancy 
or  Basle),  Hotel  de  V Europe  (good),  74  Boulevard  de 
Strasbourg  :  Hotel  St.  Laurent,  4  Rue  de  Metz  :  H.  de 
Bale,  6  Rue  de  Metz  :  H.  de  Strasbourg,  78  Boulevard  de 
Strasbourg  ;  near  the  Gare  de  Lyon,  Hotel  du  Chemin  de 
Fer  de  Lyon  ;  near  the  Gare  d  Orléans,  H.  du  Chemin  de 
Fer,  8  Boulevard  de  l'Hôpital  j  near  the  Gare  Montpar- 
nasse (for  Chartres  and  Brittany),  H.  de  France  et  de 
Bretagne,  i  Rue  du  Départ  ;  near  the  Gare  St.  Lazare  (for 
Rouen  and  Normandy),  H.  de  Londres  et  New  York,  15 
Rue  du  Havre;  H.  Anglo- Américain,  113  Rue  S.  Lazare. 

Hotels. — The  best  hotels  are  those  on  the  western  boule- 
vards, in  the  Rue  de  Riv^oli,  Place  Vendôme,  Rue  de  la 
Paix,  and  their  neighborhood.  In  these  hotels  the  price  of 
bedrooms  varies  from  4  to  10  fr..  according  to  the  size  and 
floor.      Pension    in    winter  is    from  15  to  20   fr.    a  day. 


14  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Hotels  in  the  Rue  St.  Honoré  are  less  expensive  and  often 
more  comfortable — pension  in  winter  from  lo  to  15  fr. 
a  day. 

The  three  largest  Hotels  are — H.  Continental,  3  Rue  de 
Castiglione,  with  a  view  of  the  Tuileries  gardens  ;  Grand 
Hotel,  12  Boulevard  des  Capucins,  close  to  the  new  Opera 
House  ;  Grand  Hotel  dit  Louvre,  Rue  de  Rivoli,  opposite 
the  Louvre,  and  close  to  the  Palais  Royal 

Important  and  comfortable  hotels  are — Yl.Bristol,  3  and 
5  Place  Vendôme  ;  H.  du  Rhin,  4  and  6  Place  Vendôme  ; 
H.  Meurice,  228  Rue  de  Rivoli;  H.  Windsor,  226  Rue  de 
Rivoli;  H.  Brighton,  218  Rue  de  Rivoli;  H.  Wagram, 
208  Rue  de  Rivoli  ;  H.  Mirabeau,  8  Rue  de  la  Paix  ;  H. 
Westminster,  11  and  13  Rue  de  la  Paix;  H.  de  Hollande, 
20  Rue  de  la  Paix;  H.  Splendide,  24  Rue  de  la  Paix;  H. 
Chatham,  17  Rue  Daunou  ;  H.  de  T Empire,  7  Rue  Daunou; 
H.  des  Deux-Mondes,  22  Avenue  de  l'Opéra. 

Comfortable  hotels  for  a  long  residence  are  — H.  St. 
James,  211  Rue  St.  Honoré;  H.  de  Lille  et  d'Albion,  223 
Rue  St.  Honoré;  H.  Richmond,  11  Rue  du  Helder. 

The  hotels  north  of  the  boulevards  or  south  of  the 
Seine  are  much  less  expensive,  and  quite  unfrequented  by 
English. 

Bachelors  making  a  long  stay  in  Paris  may  live  very 
comfortably  and  reasonably  at  Maisons  Meublées,  such  as 
Hotel  Noel-Peter,  Rue  d'Amboise,  H.  de  Rastadt,  4  Rue 
Daunou,  and  many  small  hotels  on  the  Quai  Voltaire, 
and  in  the  neighboring  streets.  Travellers  are  never 
required  to  have  luncheon  or  dinner  in  the  Parisian 
hotels,  but  are  generally  expected  to  breakfast  there. 

Restaurants. — The  best  as  well  as  the  most  expensive 
restaurants  are  those  on  the  boulevards  and  in  the  Palais 
Royal.     Here  a  good  dinner  costs  from  10  to  15  fr.,  exclu- 


DULL-USEFUL    LY L'ORMA  TrOIV  15 

sive  of  wine.  Restaurants  of  high  reputations  are — le 
Gra?id  Véfour,  79  Galerie  Beaujolais,  Palais  Royal  ;  Mai- 
son  Dorée,  20  ;  Café  Ric/ie,  29  ;  Café  Anglais,  13  ;  Café  du 
Heldcr,  29 — Boulevard  des  Italiens  ;  Bignon,  32  Avenue 
de  l'Opéra. 

Travellers  who  are  not  connoisseurs  will,  however,  prob- 
ably be  satisfied  with  the  Restaura7its  Duval,  which  are 
admirably  managed  and  very  moderate  in  price.  These 
establishments  are  scattered  all  over  the  town,  and  a  list  of 
them  is  found  on  the  card  which  is  presented  to  every  one 
on  entering,  and  on  which  the  waitress  (dressed  in  a 
costume)  marks  articles  as  they  are  ordered.  Payment  is 
made  at  a  desk,  three  or  four  sous  being  left  on  the  table 
for  the  attendant.  Some  of  the  most  convenient  Restau- 
rants Duval  are — 194  Rue  de  Rivoli;  31  Avenue  de 
l'Opéra;  27  Boulevard  delà  Madeleine;  10  Place  delà 
Madeleine;  10  Boulevard  Poissonnière;  21  Boulevard 
Montmartre  ;  26  Boulevard  St.  Michel  (near  Hotel  de 
Cluny). 

Cabs. — When  a  cab  is  engaged  the  driver  should  be 
asked  to  give  you  his  ticket  {numéro),  which  is  marked 
with  the  tariff  of  prices. 

Om7iibuscs. — The  fares  in  all  Parisian  omnibuses  are  the 
same,  for  any  distance  whatever  within  the  barriers — 30  c. 
inside,  15  c.  outside.  If  no  omnibus  runs  to  the  exact  point 
a  traveller  wishes  to  reach,  he  demands  correspondance 
(permission  to  change  from  one  line  to  another),  on  enter- 
ing a  vehicle.  Receiving  a  ticket,  he  will  be  set  down  at 
the  point  where  the  two  lines  cross,  and  the  ticket  will  give 
him  a  prior  right  to  a  seat  in  the  corresponding  omnibus, 
and,  in  some  cases,  free  him  from  a  second  payment. 
There  are  tramway-lines  to  St.  Cloud,  Versailles,  and  other 
places  in  the  suburbs. 


1 6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Theatres. — Tickets  for  theatres  may  be  purchased  be- 
forehand at  a  bureau  de  location^  where  a  plan  of  the  theatre 
is  shown.  Seats  secured  thus  are  slightly  more  expensive 
than  those  demanded  au  bureau  (at  the  door).  The  most 
important  theatre  is  the  Théâtre  Français  on  the  S.W.  of 
the  Palais  Royal. 

The  performances  of  the  Opera  take  place  on  Mondays, 
Wednesdays,  and  Fridays,  and,  in  the  winter,  on  Saturdays 
also. 

History. — The  founder  of  the  Merovingian  dynasty  (of 
which  few  monarchs  resided  at  Paris)  was  Clovis,  c.  496. 
The  Carlovingiaft  dynasty  was  founded  by  Pepin-le-Bref, 
752.  This  dynasty  was  deposed,  after  the  Norman  in- 
vasion of  885,  and  the  crown  given  to  Count  Eudes, 
who  founded  the  Capetian  dynasty.  From  this  time 
France  was  ruled  by — 

Hugues  Capet,  987. 
Robert  II.  (le  Pieux),  1031. 
Henri  I.,  1031. 
Philippe  I.,  1060. 
Louis  VI.  (le  Gros),  1108. 
Louis  VII.'  (le  Jeune),  1137. 
Philippe  II.  (Auguste),  1180. 
Louis  VIII.  (le  Lion),  1223, 
Louis  IX.  (St.  Louis),  1226. 
Philippe  III,  (le  Hardi),  1270. 
Philippe  IV.  (le  Bel),  1285. 
Louis  X.  (le  Hutin),  1314. 
Philippe  V.  (le  Long),  1316. 
Charles  IV.  (le  Bel),  1322. 

House  of  Valois  : — 

Philippe  VI.,  1328. 
Jean  (le  Bon),  1350. 
Charles  V.  (le  Sage),  1364, 
Charles  VI.  (le  Bien-aimé),  1380. 
Charles  VII.,  1422. 


DULL-USEFUL  INFORMATION 

Louis  XI.,  1461. 

Charles  VIII.,  1483. 

Louis  XII.  (Père  du  peuple),  1498. 

François  I.,  1515. 

Henri  IL,  1547. 

François  IL,  1559. 

Charles  IX.,  1560. 

Henri  IIL,  1574. 

House  of  Bourbon  : — 
Henri  IV.,  1589. 
Louis  XIII. ,  1610. 
Louis  XIV.,  1643. 
Louis  XV.,  1715. 
Louis  XVI.,  1774. 

Republic. — Sept.  22,  1792-1799. 
Napoleon  I. — First  Consul,  Dec.  25,  1799. 
Emperor,  Dec.  2,  1804. 

House  of  Bourbon  : — 
Louis  XVIII.,  1814. 
Charles  X.,1824. 

Louis  Philippe  (d'Orléans),  1830. 

Republic,  1848-1852. 

Napoleon  III. — President,  Dec.  20,  1848. 

Emperor,  Dec.  2,  1852. 
Republic  proclaimed,  Sept.  4,  1870. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    TUILERIES  AND   LOUVRE, 

THOSE  who  visit  Paris  now,  and  look  down  the  ave- 
nues of  the  Champs  Elysées  and  gardens  which  lead 
to  nothing  at  all,  or  mourn  over  the  unmeaning  desolate 
space  once  occupied  by  the  central  façade  of  the  Tuileries, 
can  scarcely  realize  the  scene  as  it  was  before  the  Revo- 
lution of  1870.  Then,  between  the  beautiful  chestnut 
avenues,  across  the  brilliant  flowers  and  quaint  orange 
trees  of  the  gardens,  beyond  the  sparkling  glory  of  the 
fountains,  rose  the  majestic  façade  of  a  palace,  infinitely 
harmonious  in  color,  indescribably  picturesque  and  noble 
in  form,  interesting  beyond  description  from  its  associa- 
tions, appealing  to  the  noblest  and  most  touching  recollec- 
tions, which  all  its  surroundings  led  up  to  and  were  glori- 
fied by,  which  was  the  centre  and  soul  of  Paris,  the  first 
spot  to  be  visited  by  strangers,  the  one  point  in  the  capital 
which  attracted  the  sympathies  of  the  world. 

It  is  all  gone  now.  Malignant  folly  ruined  it:  apa- 
thetic and  narrow-minded  policy  declined  to  restore  and 
preserve  it. 

Till  the  beginning  of  the  XVI.  c.  the  site  of  the  Tui- 
leries was  occupied  by  a  manufactory  of  tiles,  which  ex- 
isted in  some  of  the  open  grounds  belonging  to  the  cour- 
tille  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Quinze  Vingts,  founded  in  the 


THE    TUILERIES  it^ 

middle  of  the  XIII.  c.  on  a  site  which  is  now  crossed  by 
the  Rue  de  Rivoli. 

"This  Pallacc  is  called  Tuilleries,  because  heretofore  they 
used  to  burn  tile  there,  before  the  Pallace  was  built.  For  this 
French  word  Tuillerie  doth  signifie  in  the  French  a  place  for 
burning  of  tile." — Coryafs  ''Crudities,"  i6ii. 

It  was  in  15 18  that  Louise  de  Savoie,  Duchesse  d'An- 
goulême,  mother  of  François  I.,  finding  the  Hôtel  des 
Tournelles  an  unhealthy  residence,  on  account  of  its 
neighborhood  to  the  great  drain  of  the  Marais,  obtained 
the  Tuileries  — /^rr<^  Tegidariorum  —irom.  her  son,  with  the 
neighboring  villa  of  Nicolas  de  Neufville,  Secrétaire  des 
Finances.  Louise  died  in  1531,  and  her  villa  continued 
to  be  a  prize  given  to  favorites  in  thé  royal  household,  till 
Catherine  de  Medicis  greatly  enlarged  the  domain  of  the 
Tuileries  by  purchase,  and  employed  Philibert  Delorme  to 
build  a  magnificent  palace  there.  He  erected  the  façade 
towards  the  gardens,  till  lately  the  admiration  of  Europe, 
and  his  work — "le  grand  avant-corps  du  milieu" — was 
continued  by  Jean  Bullant,  who  built  the  pavilions  at 
either  end  of  his  façade.  This  was  continued  by  Du  Cer- 
ceau under  Henri  IV.  to  the  Pavilion  de  Flore,  close  to 
the  site  then  occupied  by  the  Porte  Neuve  and  the  circu- 
lar Tour  du  Bois  belonging  to  the  city  walls,  which  ran 
behind  the  palace  to  the  Porte  St.  Honoré,  across  the 
present  site  of  the  Place  du  Carrousel.  Du  Cerceau  also 
continued  the  south  side  of  the  palace  from  the  Pavilion 
de  Flore,  parallel  with  the  Seine,  interrupting  the  line  of 
the  city  walls  by  great  galleries  which  connected  his 
building  with  the  Louvre.  The  space  on  the  north  still 
continued  to  be  unoccupied,  except  by  the  detached  build- 
ings of  the  Grande  Ecurie,  until  the  north  side  of  the 
palace,  with  the  Pavilion  de  Marsan  towards  the  Rue  de 


20  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Rivoli,  was  built  for  Louis  XIV.  by  Levau  and  his  son-in- 
law,  François  d'Orbay.  Under  the  second  empire  the 
Tuileries  was  finally  united  on  the  north  side  with  the 
Louvre,  with  which  it  thenceforth  formed  one  vast  palace. 
The  Pavilion  de  Flore  was  rebuilt  1863-68. 

The  Tuileries  was  seldom  inhabited  by  royalty  till  the 
present  century.  Under  Louis  XIV.  Versailles  became 
the  royal  residence.  Louis  XV.  spent  some  time  at  the 
Tuileries  during  his  minority  and  the  regency,  and  com- 
ical are  the  accounts  of  the  way  in  which  his  governess, 
Mme  de  Ventadour,  faced  there  the  difficulties  of  his  edu- 
cation. 

"A  young  lad  of  poor  family,  of  the  same  age  as  Louis  XV., 
was  chosen  as  the  companion  of  his  studies,  and  became  the  com- 
petitor of  the  king,  who  took  a  great  liking  to  him.  Whenever 
Louis  XV.  missed  his  duties  or  failed  in  his  lessons,  his  little 
friend  was  flogged  or  punished.  This  unjust  expedient  had 
slight  success." — Mémoires  de  Dticlos. 

After  he  grew  up  Louis  XV.  always  resided  at  Versailles. 
Louis  XVI.  lived  either  at  Versailles  or  St.  Cloud,  till  he 
was  brought  to  Paris  as  a  prisoner  to  find  the  palace  al- 
most unfurnished.  "  Tout  y  manquait,  lits,  tables,  chaises, 
et  jusqu'aux  objets  les  plus  nécessaires  de  la  vie."  In  a 
few  days  some  of  the  furniture  of  the  royal  apartments  at 
Versailles  was  brought  to  Paris,  and  the  royal  family  then 
established  themselves — the  king,  queen,  and  royal  chil- 
dren in  the  central  apartments  on  the  ground  floor  and 
entresol  of  the  left  wing,  Mme  de  Lamballe  on  the  ground 
floor,  and  Madame  Elizabeth  on  the  first  floor  of  the  Pa- 
vilion de  Flore.  Thus  accommodated,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  reside  at  the  Tuileries  from  October  6,  1789,  to 
August  10,  1792.  After  the  execution  of  Louis  XVI. 
(condemned  at  the  Manège)  the  Convention  held  its  meet- 


THE    TUILERIES  2i 

ings  at  the  Tuileries,  till  it  was  replaced  by  the  Conseil 
des  Anciens  in  1796. 

On  February  i,  1800,  Bonaparte  came  to  reside  at  the 
Tuileries,  which  still  bore  placards  inscribed  with  '•  10  Août, 
1792.  La  royauté  en  France  est  abolie  et  ne  se  relèvera 
jamais."  "  Eh  bien,  Bourienne,  nous  voilà  donc  aux  Tuile- 
ries. Maintenant  il  faut  y  rester,"  were  the  first  words  of 
the  future  emperor  to  his  faithful  secretary  on  arriving. 
Henceforward  regiments  defiled  through  the  court  of  the 
Tuileries  every  five  days. 

"  It  was  here  that  Bonaparte  showed  himself  to  the  troops  and 
to  the  multitude  who  were  always  eager  to  follow  his  steps. 
There,  pale,  drooping  on  his  horse,  he  presented  an  interesting 
and  striking  figure,  by  his  grave  and  sad  beauty,  and  by  an 
appearance  of  ill  health  which  began  to  cause  much  disquietude, 
for  never  was  the  preservation  of  a  man  so  much  desired  as  his." 
—  Thiers. 

T\ïQ  Jieurs-de- lis  were  now  picked  out  of  the  furniture 
of  the  Tuileries,  and  replaced  by  the  bee  of  the  Bonapartes. 
In  the  chapel  Napoleon  I.  was  married  by  Cardinal  Fesch 
to  Josephine  (who  had  long  been  his  wife  by  the  civil  bond\ 
Berthier  and  Talleyrand  being  witnesses  ;  in  the  palace 
he  received  Pius  VII.,  who  was  given  the  Pavilion  de 
Flore  as  a  residence  ;  thence  he  went  to  his  coronation  ; 
there  the  different  marriages  of  the  imperial  brothers  and 
sisters  took  place  ;  there  the  divorce  of  Josephine  was  pro- 
nounced ;  and  there  in  1812,  when  intending  to  unite  the 
Tuileries  to  the  Louvre,  he  especially  bade  the  architect  to 
prepare  vast  apartments  for  the  vassal  sovereigns  who  would 
form  part  of  his  cortège  on  his  triumphant  return  from 
Russia  ! 

Napoleon  I.  fell,  but  the  Tuileries  continued  to  be  the 
habitual  seat  of  the  executive  power  till  1870.  At  the 
Restoration  of  18 14  the  last  survivor  of  the  five  prisoners  of 


22  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  Temple,  the  Duchesse  d'Angoulême,  was  received  there 
by  two  hundred  ladies  dressed  in  white  embroidered  with 
the  Bourbon  lily.  There  she  watched  over  the  last  hours 
of  Louis  XVIII.,  and  there,  through  the  reigns  of  Louis 
XVIII.  and  Charles  X.,  she  lived  apart  from  the  dis- 
sipations of  the  Court,  in  a  room  hung  with  white  velvet, 
upon  which  lilac  daisies  had  been  worked  by  the  hands 
of  her  mother  and  Madame  Elizabeth,  and  in  which,  in 
an  oratory,  she  kept  the  memorials  of  their  last  days — 
the  cap  which  the  queen  had  made  with  her  own  hands  to 
wear  at  her  trial  ;  the  handkerchief  torn  from  the  bosom 
of  Madame  Elizabeth  on  the  scaffold  ;  the  coat,  white 
cravat,  and  black  silk  waistcoat  in  which  Louis  XVI.  had 
gone  to  death — all  preserved  in  a  drawer  of  the  rude 
bench  on  which  her  brother  had  died. 

Another  revolution,  and  the  numerous  members  of  the 
Orleans  family  crossed  the  road  from  the  Palais-Royal  to 
reside  at  the  Tuileries.  Louis  Philippe  at  once  began  to 
prepare  for  a  revolution  by  making  a  fosse  concealed  by 
lilacs  and  screened  by  an  iron  balustrade  along  the  garden 
front  of  the  palace.  But  eighteen  years  of  alternations  of 
joy  and  mourning,  public  sympathy  and  unpopularity, 
were  allowed  to  pass  over  the  family,  increasing  the  re- 
spect felt  for  the  virtues  of  Marie- Amélie,  and  the  want  of 
confidence  in  the  feeble  king,  before  the  end  came  in 
February,  1848,  two  months  after  Louis  Philippe  had  lost 
his  right  hand  and  directing  moral  influence  in  his  strong- 
minded  sister,  Madame  Adélaïde,  who  died  in  the  Pavil- 
ion de  Flore,  December  31, 1847.  As  King  Louis  Philippe 
passed  out  of  the  Tuileries  into  exile  he  uttered  on  the 
threshold  the  significant  last  words  of  his  reign,  "  Tout 
comme  Charles  Dix  !  " 

From  the  time  of  the  sudden  death  of  the  young  Due 


THE    TUILERIES  23 

d'Orléans,  July  13,  1842,  his  widow  had  lived  for  six  years 
in  the  apartment  which  had  belonged  to  him  in  the  Pavil- 
ion de  Marsan,  turing  it  into  a  sanctuary. 

"Not  a  piece  of  furniture  moved,  not  a  thing  taken  away; 
near  the  fireplace  was  a  large  arm  chair  on  which  the  prince  had 
thrown,  wide  open,  the  number  of  \\iQ  Journal  des  Débats  oi  K^q 
day,  and  the  journal  had  not  been  lifted  for  six  years  ;  the  bed 
was  in  disorder  and  had  never  been  made  ;  the  trunks  prepared 
for  the  journey  to  Plombières,  where  the  duke  was  to  meet  the 
duchess,  remained  o^an^'—Imbert  de  St.  Amand. 

After  the  flight  of  the  rest  of  the  royal  family  on  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1848,  the  Duchess,  with  her  two  children,  escorted 
by  her  faithful  brother-in-law,  the  Due  de  Nemours,  left 
the  Tuileries  to  make  her  futile  claim  upon  the  protection 
and  sympathy  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  In  the  after 
sack  of  the  Tuileries  her  rooms  and  the  chapel  were  the 
only  apartments  respected.  Two  cartloads  of  the  finest 
Sèvres  china  alone  were  destroyed,  and  the  Orleans  collec- 
tion of  pictures  was  cut  to  pieces. 

On  January  i,  1852,  the  second  empire  made  its  trium- 
phal entry  into  the  Tuileries  in  the  person  of  Louis  Napoleon. 
There  on  January  29, 1853,  he  was  affianced  to  the  beautiful 
Comtesse  de  Te'ba  ;  there  the  Prince  Imperial  was  born, 
March  16,  1856;  there  the  empress,  long  the  idol  of  fickle 
France,  heard  of  the  misfortune  of  Sedan  ;  and  thence  she 
fled  from  the  fury  of  the  mob  on  September  4,  1870. 

No  sovereign  should  ever  again  inhabit  the  Tuileries. 
The  palace,  which  had  been  four  times  already  attacked  by 
the  people  of  Paris  (June  20,  1792  ;  August  10,  1792  ;  July 
29,  1830;  February  24,  1848),  was  wilfully  burnt  by  the 
Commune— by  barrels  of  petroleum  and  gunpowder  placed 
in  the  different  rooms— May  23,  1871,  after  the  troops  from 
Versailles  had  entered  the  city.  Internally,  it  was  complete- 
ly destroyed,  but  the  walls,  roofless  and  gutted,  remained 


24  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

nearly  entire,  and  the  beautiful  central  pavilion  of  Phili- 
bert Deloime  was  almost  entirely  unhurt.  Yet,  through 
want  of  energy  for  their  restoration,  these,  by  far  the  most 
interesting  ruins  in  France,  were  razed  to  the  ground,  and 
its  greatest  ornament  and  its  central  point  of  interest  were 
thus  lost  to  Paris  for  ever. 

All  that  remains  of  the  past  now  is  the  Tuileries  garden, 
with  its  great  orange  trees  in  tubs  and  its  vast  population  of 
statues.  Most  of  these  date  from  the  Revolution;  but  the 
older  statues,  brought  hither  from  the  gardens  of  Marly,  are 
of  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  As  a  work  of  art  we  may  notice 
the  Winter  of  Sébastien  Stodtz  (1655-1726).  It  was  be- 
hind the  statue  of  Venus  Pudica,  at  one  of  the  angles  of 
the  principal  avenue,  that  Henri  concealed  himself  when 
he  fired  upon  Louis  Philippe,  July  29,  1846.  The  finest 
of  all  the  sculptures  are  the  equestrian  statues  by  An- 
toine Coysevox,  brought  from  Marly,  and  now  placed 
on  either  side  of  the  entrance  from  the  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde. 

"These  two  admirable  groups,  La  Renommée  and  Alerenre, 
were  cut  from  two  enormous  blocks  of  marble  by  the  artist  him- 
self who  made  the  models  ;  he  inscribed  on  the  plinth  of  the 
Mercury  :  T/iese  two  groups  were  done  in  two  years.  " — Razf/  Lacroix, 
^^  Dix  huitième  Siècle." 

The  original  plan  of  the  gardens,  as  laid  out  by  Reg- 
nard  under  Louis  XIII.  and  afterwards  by  Levau  and 
D'Orbay,  was  much  altered  by  Lenotre  with  a  judgment 
which  time  has  completely  justified. 

"The  plan  was  not  to  begin  the  covert  oi  the  garden  at  less 
than  ninety-two  toises  from  the  façade  of  the  palace  in  order  that 
the  building  might  enjoy  fresh  air  ;  and  he  laid  out  the  surface  of 
this  open  space  in  parterres  of  flowers  in  compartments,  mingled 
with  expanses  of  green  sward,  that  might  be  regarded  as  so  many 
master-pieces.  " — Blondel. 


TUILERIES   GARDENS 


25 


The  portion  of  the  gardens  nearest  the  Champs  Ely- 
sees  is  hiid  out  in  groves  of  chestnut  trees.  I'here  is  a 
tradition  that  one  of  these  trees  heralds  spring  by  flower- 
ing on  March  22,  on  which  day  orthodox  Parisians  go  to 
look  for  the  phenomenon. 

On  either  side  of  the  gardens  are  raised  terraces.  That 
on  the  south  above  the  Seine  formerly  ended  in  the  hand- 
some Porte  de  la  Conférence  (on  the  walls  of  Charles 
IX.),  which  was  destroyed  in  1730.     It  derived  its  name 


>h^^- 


THE   GARDENS   OF  THE   TUILERIES. 


from  the  Spanish  ambassadors  having  entered  there  to 
confer  with  Mazarin  about  the  marriage  of  Maria  Theresa 
with  Louis  XIV.  The  north  terrace,  above  the  Rue  de 
Rivoli,  is  still  one  of  the  most  popular  promenades  in 
Paris.  Its  western  end,  being  the  warmest  and  sunniest 
part  of  the  garden,  has  obtained  the  name  of  Za  Petite 
Provence.  Here  it  was  that  Louis  XV.  first  saw  Mile  de 
Romans,  brought  hither  as  a  beautiful  little  girl  to  see 
the  show  of  the  king's  entry,  sent  to  inquire  at  the  lemon- 
ade stall  (existing  then  as  now)  who  she  was,  and  then 


26  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

took  her  away  from  her  parents  to  become  his  mistress 
and  the  mother  of  the  Abbé  de  Bourbon.'  Along  this 
same  Terrasse  des  Feuillants  his  grandson,  Louis  XVI., 
and  his  family,  escaped  from  the  Tuileries  on  the  terrible 
August  lo,  1792,  to  take  refuge  in  the  National  Assembly, 
then  held  in  the  Manege  or  riding-school,  which  joined 
the  old  buildings  of  the  Couvent  des  Feuillants.  Only 
two  of  the  queen's  ladies  were  permitted  to  accompany 
them,  Mme  de  Lamballe  as  being  a  relation,  and  Mme  de 
Tourzel  as  being  governess  of  the  Children  of  France. 

"While  passing  at  a  slow  pace  from  the  palace  to  the  Feu- 
illants, Marie  Antoinette  wept  ;  she  wiped  her  eyes  and  wept 
again.  The  hedge  of  Swiss  Grenadiers  and  of  the  Grenadiers  of 
the  National  Guard  was  broken  through  by  the  populace  that 
pressed  so  close  upon  her  that  her  watch  and  purse  were  stolen. 
When  she  came  opposite  the  Café  de  la  Terrasse,  the  queen  hardly 
saw  that  she  was  stepping  into  a  mass  of  leaves.  '  Lots  of 
leaves,'  said  the  king;  '  they  have  fallen  early  this  year.'  At  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  of  the  Terrasse,  men  and  women,  brandishing 
clubs,  barred  the  passage  of  the  royal  family,  '  No,'  cried  the 
crowd,  '  they  shall  not  enter  the  Assembly.  They  are  the  cause 
of  all  our  woes  ;  this  must  end.  Down  with  them  !  Down  with 
them!'  At  last  the  family  passed  on." — De  Concourt,  '' L'Hist. 
de  Marie  Antoinette  y 

Nothing  remains  now  of  the  old  convent  of  the  Feu- 
illants (destroyed  to  make  the  Rue  de  Rivoli),  which  gave 
the  terrace  its  name,  and  where  the  royal  family  spent  the 
days  from  August  to  to  13  (when  they  were  taken  to  the 
Temple)  in  cells,  beneath  which  the  people  constantly  de- 
manded the  death  of  the  queen  with  cries  of  "Jetez-nous 
sa  tête  !"  2 

Close  to  the  Terrasse  des  Feuillants  is  the  Allée  des 
Orangers^  where  orange  trees  in  tubs,  many  of  them  his- 

•  Mme  Campan,  A  necdotes. 
2  Lettre  de  M.  Aubier. 


TUILERIES   GARDENS  27 

toric  trees  of  great  age,  are  placed  in  summer.  In  the 
groves  of  trees  between  this  and  the  southern  terrace  are 
two  hémicycles  of  white  marble — Carres  (VAtalante — which 
are  interesting  as  having  been  erected  from  a  fancy  of 
Robespierre  in  1793,  that  the  old  men  might  sit  there  to 
watch  the  floral  games  of  youth. 

In  the  gardens,  where  Horace  Walpole  was  so  sur- 
prised to  find  in  reality  the  lopped  trees  and  clipped  and 
trimmed  nature  portrayed  in  the  pictures  of  Watteau,  we 
may  recall  many  of  the  scenes  of  which  those  and  other 
pictures  of  the  time  are  perhaps  the  best  existing  record. 
Here  Louis  XIII.  as  a  boy  was  taught  to  build  little  for- 
tresses. Here  Arthur  Young  (January,  1790)  saw  the 
Dauphin  (Louis  X VI I. ),"  a -pretty  good-natured  looking 
boy  of  five  or  six  years  old,"  at  work  with  his  little  rake 
and  hoe  in  his  miniature  railed-off  garden,  but  not  without 
a  guard  of  two  grenadiers.  Here  also,  of  the  early  days 
of  the  Revolution,  Chateaubriand  wrote  : — 

"The  palace  of  the  Tuileries,  a  great  jail  filled  with  con- 
demned, rose  up  in  the  midst  of  the  fêtes  of  destruction.  The 
doomed  were  playing  while  waiting  for  the  tutnbiil,  the  shears,  the 
red  shirt,  that  had  been  hung  out  to  dry,  and  through  the  windows 
the  dazzling  illuminations  of  the  queen's  circle  were  visible." — 
Mémoires  (T  Outre- Tombe. 

Here  also  it  was  that  (March  20,  181 1)  the  vast  breath- 
less multitude  waited  for  the  sound  of  the  guns  which  were 
to  announce  the  birth  of  a  child  of  Napoleon  and  Marie 
Louise,  and  burst  into  a  shout  of  joy  when  the  twenty- 
second  gun  made  known  that  the  child  was  a  son — the 
King  of  Rome. 

"One  tradition  that  will  live  forever,  is  that  of  the  20th  of 
March,  1811,  when  the  first  sound  of  the  cannon  announced  at 
last  that  Marie  Louise  was  a  mother.  At  this  first  boom,  everj-^- 
thing  in  motion  stopped  ....  everything.      In  a  moment  the 


28  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

great  city  was  smitten  with  silence  as  if  by  enchantment.  The 
most  important  business  conversations,  the  most  delirious  words 
of  love  were  suspended  ....  and  without  the  booming  of  the 
cannon  one  might  have  fancied  one's  self  in  that  city  of  the  Arabian- 
Nights  which  the  wave  of  a  wand  had  petrified At  length 

a  twenty-second  cannon  thundered  in  the  silence  !  .  .  .  .  Then 
one  single  shout,  one  single  one,  ....  but  uttered  by  a  million 
of  voices,  boomed  over  Paris,  and  shook  the  walls  of  the  very 
palace  where  the  son  of  the  hero  was  just  born,  and  around  which 
the  crowd  was  so  close  packed  that  a  fly  could  not  have  alighted 
on  the  ground." — Me'moires  de  la  Duchesse  (VAbrante. 

A  similar  crowd  waited  here,  March  i6,  1856,  for  the 
birth  of  the  brave  and  unfortunate  prince  who  was  the  son 
of  Napoleon  III.  and  Eugénie  de  Guzman. 

In  the  palace  which  looked  upon  the  garden  Napoleon 
II.  at  five  years  old  had  been  taught  to  "  représenter  no- 
blement et  avec  'grâce,"  receiving  a  mimic  Court  every 
Sunday. 

But  all  the  memories  of  the  Tuileries  sink  into  insig- 
nificance compared  with  those  which  surround  the  events 
of  1792.  Weber,  "frère  de  lait"  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
describes  how  he  was  driving  by  the  Seine  on  the  after- 
noon of  June  20. 

"  Returning  along  the  quay,  I  saw  the  gate  opposite  the  Pont- 
Royal  open  ;  and  as  all  the  world  was  entering,  I  left  my  carriage 
and  mingled  with  the  crowd,  never  doubting  but  that  there  was 
there  plenty  of  respectable  people  ready  to  throw  themselves  into 
the  palace  to  defend  the  king's  life  if  it  was  threatened  ;  and 
indeed  I  found  a  large  number.  I  asked  several  of  them  how 
many  they  were,  and  they  replied,  '  Six  or  seven  hundred.' 
There  were  there  forty  thousand  ruffians  !  Besides,  as  soon  as  I 
entered  the  garden,  I  saw  no  sign  of  danger.  A  triple  rank  of 
National  Guards,  the  two  rear  ones  having  their  bayonets  fixed, 
lined  the  terrace  from  the  Pont-Royal  gate  to  that  opposite  S. 
Roch.  The  ruffians  marched  on  quietly  enough  ;  some  squads 
only  stopped  from  time  to  time  beneath  the  windows  of  the  royal 
apartments,  brandishing  their  arms,  and  crying:  ^A  bas  Veto  I 
Vive   la   nation!^     I  heard   one   of   those   that    carried  the  most 


THE    TWENTIETH  OF  JUNE  29 

horrible  weapons,  whose  honest  face  contrasted  singularly  with 
his  wild  costume,  say,  as  he  looked  at  the  closed  windows  of  the 
king  :  '  Why  docs  he  not  show  himself?  What  is  the  poor  dear  man 
afraid  of?  We  will  not  hurt  him.'  I  heard  the  old  saying  re- 
peated, '  He  is  deceived,'  and  another  answered  :  '  But  why  does  he 
believe  six  men  rather  than  seven  hundred  and  forty-five?  They 
gave  him  a  veto  and  he  does  not  know  how  to  manage  it:  A  huge 
construction,  shaped  like  the  tables  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and  on 
which  was  written,  in  letters  of  gold,  the  declaration  of  the  rights 
of  man,  was  the  chief  object  borne  in  the  procession.     Alongside 


THE  TUILERIES  AND  THE  PONT-ROYAL. 


women,  who  carried  sabres  and  spits,  were  men  carrying  olive 
branches.  The  Red  Caps  were  there  by  thousands,  and  on  every 
musket  or  pike  was  a  streamer  inscribed  :  '  The  Constitution  or 
Death!''' 

Later  in  the  day  the  masses  of  the  people  advanced 
upon  the  palace.  The  guard  then  fraternized  with  the 
invaders,  and  a  cannon  was  pointed  at  the  inner  entrance 
of  the  king's  apartments.  Louis  XVL,  perfectly  calm  in 
the  midst  of  danger,  urged  Marie  Antoinette  to  secure  her 
children,  and,  followed  only  by  his  heroic  sister  Elizabeth, 
who  insisted   upon  sharing  his  fate,  went  down  to  the 


30 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


entrance.  "  Let  them  think  I  am  the  queen,"  said  the 
princess,  as  they  shouted  for  the  head  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
"  that  she  may  have  time  to  escape.  " 

"'AH  defense  is  useless,' said  the  king;  'there  is  only  one 
thing  to  do,  that  is  to  open  the  door  and  show  one's  self  calmly  ;  ' 
and  at  the  same  time  he  ordered  Edouard  the  Suisse  to  open  it. 
He  obeyed,  and  the  whole  crowd  that  believed  the  king  was  con- 
cealed, manifested  an  instant  of  surprise.  His  friends  took 
advantage  of  this  moment  to  make  him  mount  on  an  entablature, 
where  he  was  less  exposed  to  the  individual  fury  of  those  who 
sought  his  life.  It  was  M.  de  Bougainville  who  thought  of  this 
expedient,  and  M.  Deloque  and  his  other  friends  pressed  around 
and  formed  a  rampart.  The  spectacle  then  presented  to  the  king 
was  horrible.  In  the  midst  of  this  filthy  mob,  formed  of  men  of 
every  region,  but  more  particularly  of  unknown  vagabonds  from 
the  southern  provinces,  three  standards,  or  kinds  of  standards, 
were  displayed.  One  was  formed  of  a  knife  resembling  the 
famous  machine  called  the  guillotine,  with  this  inscription  : 
'For  the  tyrant;'  the  second  represented  a  woman  on  a  gibbet, 
with  the  words:  '  For  Antoinette;'  on  the  third  was  displayed  a 
piece  of  flesh  in  the  form  of  a  heart,  nailed  to  a  plank,  with 
this  inscription  :   '  For  the  priests  and  aristocrats.'' 

"For  nearly  four  hours  those  who  marched  under  these  ter- 
rible standards  pointed  their  pikes,  over  the  heads  of  the  group 
of  gentlemen,  towards  the  king,  and  bade  him  sanction  the  decree 
against  the  priests,  under  penalty  of  deposition  or  death,  and  he 
replied  constantly  :  '  I  will  renounce  the  crown  rather  than  par- 
ticipate in  such  a  tyranny  over  conscience  !  '  To  prove  his  resig- 
nation, he  allowed  the  bonnet  rouge  to  be  placed  on  his  head  while 
he  was  speaking  these  words  by  a  very  handsome  young  man 
named  Clément. 

"A  bottle  of  wine  was  presented  to  him,  and  he  was  asked 
to  drink  to  the  patriots.  '  It  is  poisoned,'  his  neighbor  whis- 
pered, and  he  replied  :  'Well,  then,  I  will  die  without  sanctioning 
the  measure.'  He  drank  without  hesitation.  '  They  only  wished 
to  frighten  Your  Majesty,'  he  was  told  some  time  afterwards  by  a 
grenadier  of  the  National  Guard,  who  thought  he  had  need  of  being 
re-assured.  'You  see  it  is  calm,'  replied  the  king,  taking  the 
man's  hand  and  placing  it  on  his  heart.  '  The  man  who  does  his 
duty  is  tranquil.'" — Beaulieu,  '^ Essais  historiques.'* 


7' HE    TWENTIETH   OE  JUNE  31 

Mme  Campan  describes  the  scene  in  the  interior  of 
the  Palace. 

"  The  queen  had  not  been  able  to  reach  the  king  ;  she  was  in 
the  council  chamber,  and  some  one  had  the  idea  of  placing  her 
behind  the  large  table,  to  protect  her,  as  far  as  possible,  from  the 
approach  of  these  barbarians.  In  this  horrible  situation,  she 
preserved  a  noble  and  dignified  demeanor,  and  held  the  Dauphin 
before  her  seated  on  the  table.  Madame  stood  beside  her, 
Mdmes  the  Princess  de  Lamballe,  the  Princess  de  Tarante, 
Mmcs  de  Roche  Aymon,  de  Tourzel,  and  de  Mackau  surrounded 
her.  She  had  fastened  to  her  head  a  tricolor  cockade  which  a 
National  Guard  had  given  her.  The  poor  little  Dauphin,  like  the 
king,  was  muffled  in  an  enormous  bonnet  roiige.  The  horde 
defiled  before  this  table  ;  the  kind  of  standards  they  bore  were 
symbols  of  the  most  atrocious  barbarity.  One  of  them  repre- 
sented a  gallows  to  which  a  hideous  doll  was  suspended,  and  these 
words  below  it ,  *  Marie  Antoinette  à  la  lanterne  !  '  Another  was  a 
plank,  on  which  was  fixed  a  bullock's  heart,  around  it  being 
written  :    '  The  heart  of  Louis  XVI.^ 

"One  of  the  most  furious  women  Jacobines  who  marched 
past  with  these  wretches,  stopped  to  vomit  a  thousand  impreca- 
tions against  the  queen.  Her  Majesty  asked  if  she  had  ever  seen 
her  ;  she  replied  no  ;  if  she  had  ever  done  her  any  personal 
wrong,  the  answer  was  the  same,  but  she  added  :  'It  is  you  who 
cause  the  miser}'  of  the  nation.'  'They  have  told  you  so,'  re- 
plied the  queen,  '  and  have  deceived  you.  The  wife  of  a  king  of 
France,  the  mother  of  a  Dauphin  of  France,  I  shall  never  see 
my  native  land  again  ;  I  cannot  be  happy  or  unhappy  except 
in  France.  I  was  happy  when  you  loved  me.*  This  Megara 
burst  into  tears,  and  asked  pardon.  '  I  did  not  know  you  ;  I  see 
you  are  very  good.' 

"It  was  eight  o'clock  when  the  palace  was  entirely  evacu- 
ated.' ' — Méfnoires. 

Yet  the  horrors  of  this  terrible  day  paled  before  those 
of  August  10,  1792. 

"  At  midnight  the  tocsin  was  heard  at  the  Cordeliers  ;  in  a 
few  instants  it  sounded  through  all  Paris.  The  générale  was 
beaten  in  all  the  quarters,  and  the  noise  of  cannon  was  mingled, 
at  intervals,  with  that  of  the  drums.     The  seditious  assembled  in 


32  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

their  sections,  and  troops  of  ruffians  poured  in  from  all  sides. 
The  assassins,  armed  with  daggers,  only  awaited  the  moment  of 
entering  into  the  rooms  which  contained  the  royal  family  to  ex- 
terminate them.  The  columns  of  the  factions  set  themselves  in 
motion  and  marched  without  meeting  any  obstacle.  A  munic- 
ipal officer,  by  his  own  authority,  had  annihilated  nearly  all  the 
arrangements  for  defense.  The  Pont  Neuf,  stripped  of  troops 
and  cannon,  gave  the  seditious  all  facility  for  marching  on  the 
palace.  The  platoons  of  troops,  distributed  in  the  garden,  in  the 
courts,  and  in  the  interior  of  the  palace,  were  then  the  only 
resource  ;  moreover,  they  had  no  experienced  chief  to  direct 
their  movements.  The  officers  in  command,  drawn  from  the 
bourgeoisie  of  Paris,  and  nearly  all  belonging  to  professions  alien 
to  that  of  arms,  had  not  either  the  tactical  knowledge  or  the  reso- 
lution which  the  conjuncture  demanded." — Hue,''  Mémoires ." 

'  '  The  Swiss  were  drawn  up  like  walls,  and  stood  with  a  military 
silence  which  contrasted  with  the  ceaseless  noise  of  the  National 
Guard.  The  king  communicated  to  M.  de  J.,  an  officer  of  the 
staff,  the  plan  of  defense  prepared  by  General  Viomenil.  M.  de 
J.  told  me  after  this  private  interview,  '  Put  your  jewels  and  your 
money  in  your  pocket  ;  danger  is  inevitable,  means  of  defense 
do  not  exist  ;  they  could  only  be  found  in  the  energy  of  the  king, 
and  this  is  the  only  virtue  he  does  not  possess.' 

"An  hour  after  midnight,  the  queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth 
said  they  went  to  sleep  on  a  sofa  in  a  little  room  of  the  entresol, 
the  windows  of  which  looked  on  the  Court  of  the  Tuileries. 

"  The  queen  told  me  that  the  king  had  refused  her  request  to 
put  on  his  mailed  vest,  to  which  he  had  consented  on  the  14th 
of  July,  because  he  was  going  simply  to  a  ceremony  at  which  the 
dagger  of  an  assassin  might  be  feared,  but  that  at  a  time  when 
his  party  might  be  in  combat  with  the  revolutionists,  he  deemed 
it  cowardly  to  preserve  his  life  by  such  means. 

"During  this  time,  Madame  Elizabeth  took  off  some  of  her 
clothes  to  lie  down  on  the  sofa  ;  she  took  from  ^xç^x fichu  a  coral  pin, 
and  before  placing  it  on  the  table  she  showed  it  to  me,  and  told  me 
to  read  the  legend  engraved  around  a  slip  of  lily.  I  read  these 
words:  Oubli  des  offenses,  pardon  des  injures.  'I  fear,'  added 
this  high-principled  princess,  '  that  this  maxim  has  little  influence 
on  our  enemies,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  less  dear  to  us.' 

"The  queen  ordered  me  to  sit  beside  her  ;  the  two  princesses 
could  not  sleep,  and  were  conversing  in  a  melancholy  way  about 
their  situation,  when  a  musket  was  fired  in  the  court.     They  both 


tiip:  tenth  of  august  ^^ 

left  the  sofa,  saying,  'There  is  the  first  shot;  unfortunately  it 
will  not  be  the  last  ;  let  us  go  up  to  the  king.'  The  queen  told 
me  to  follow  her,  and  many  of  her  women  went  with  me." — Mvic 
CamJ>an.,  "  J\/e/noi7rs." 

"  Between  four  and  five  in  the  morning  the  queen  and  Madame 
Elizabeth  were  in  the  council-room.  One  of  the  chiefs  of  a  legion 
entered.  'This,'  said  he  to  the  two  princesses,  'this  is  your 
last  day  ;  the  people  is  the  stronger  ;  what  carnage  there  will 
be!'  'Monsieur,'  replied  the  queen,  'save  the  king,  save  my 
children.'  At  the  same  time  this  weeping  mother  ran  to  the 
room  of  the  Dauphin,  and  I  followed  her.  The  young  prince 
awoke  ;  his  looks  and  his  caresses  blended  a  certain  sweetness 
with  the  melancholy  sentiments  of  maternal  love.  '  Mamma,' 
said  the  Dauphin,  kissing  the  queen's  hands,  '  why  should  they 
hurt  papa?     He  is  so  good  !  '  " — Iltic,  "  Me/noircs." 

"The  queen  told  us  she  had  no  hope  more,  that  M.  Mandat, 
who  had  gone  to  the  Hôtel  de  Ville  to  receive  new  orders,  had 
just  been  murdered,  and  that  his  head  was  being  carried  through 
the  streets.  The  day  had  come  ;  the  king,  the  queen,  Madame 
Elizabeth,  Madame,  and  the  Dauphin  descended  to  pass  through 
the  ranks  of  the  sections  of  the  National  Guard  ;  there  were  cries 
of  Vive  le  roi  at  some  points.  I  was  at  a  window  on  the  garden 
side  ;  I  saw  some  cannoneers  quit  their  posts  and  approach  the 
king,  putting  their  fists  into  his  face  and  insulting  him  with  the 
grossest  remarks.  MM.  de  Salvert  and  de  Briges  vigorously 
repulsed  them.  The  king  was  pale,  as  if  he  had  ceased  to  exist. 
The  royal  family  returned  ;  the  queen  told  me  that  all  was  lost, 
that   the   king  had  shown  no  energy,    and   this   kind    of   review 

had  done  more  harm   than   good During   this   time  the 

numerous  bands  of  the  faubourg,  armed  with  pikes  and  cutlasses, 
filled  the  Carrousel  and  the  streets  adjacent  to  the  Tuileries. 
The  bloody  men  of  Marseilles  were  at  their  head,  and  the  can- 
nons trained  against  the  palace.  In  this  extremity,  the  king's 
council  sent  M,  Dejoly,  Minister  of  Justice,  to  the  Assembly  to 
ask  them  to  send  to  the  king  a  deputation  which  might  serve  as  a 
guard  to  the  Executive.  His  ruin  was  resolved  on  ;  they  passed 
to  the  order  of  the  day.  At  eight  o'clock,  the  department  appeared 
at  the  palace  ;  the  procureur-syndic  seeing  that  the  guards  inside 
were  ready  to  unite  with  the  assailants,  entered  the  king's  closet 
and  demanded  a  private  audience." — Mme  Cainpan,   ''Mémoires^ 

"  M.  Roederer  joined  the  king's  ministers,  and,  with  one  ac- 
cord, all  conjured  him  to  save  himself  and  the  royal  family  and 


34  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

take  refuge  in  the  bosom  of  the  National  Assembly.  '  Sire,' 
said  M.  Roederer,  '  there  alone,  in  the  midst  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  can  Your  Majesty,  the  queen,  and  the 
royal  family  be  in  safety  ;  come,  let  us  flee.  Another  quarter  of 
an  hour  and  retreat,  perhaps,  will  not  depend  on  us.'  The 
king  hesitated,  the  queen  displayed  the  most  lively  discontent. 
'  What  !  *  said  she.  '  We  are  alone,  no  one  can  act.  .  .  .  ' 
'  Yes,  madame,  alone  ;  action  is  useless,  and  resistance  impos- 
sible.' " — Montjoie,  ''Hist,  de  Marie  Antoinette ^ 

"The  commissioners,  seeing  that  all  the  persons  who,  from 
duty  or  from  zeal,  were  assembled  in  the  apartments  of  their 
Majesties,  resolved  to  defend  them  or  perish  with  them,  used 
every  effort  to  oppose  it.  .  .  .  Roederer,  now  addressing  the 
king,  now  the  queen,  represented  to  them  with  warmth  that  '  such 
an  escort,  irritating  still  more  the  fury  of  the  people,  could  only 
add  to  their  dangers.'  Their  Majesties  thought  only  of  that  to 
which  their  faithful  servants  devoted  themselves,  and,  without 
perceiving  the  perils  still  greater  to  which  they  would  remain  ex- 
posed, prayed  all  insistently  not  to  follow  them." — Weber,  ''Mé- 
moires." 

"  The  queen  took  with  her  only  Mme.  the  Princess  de  la  Lam- 
balle  and,  Mme  de  Tourzel.  The  Princess  de  Tarente  and  Mme 
de  Roche-Aymon  were  in  despair  at  being  left  in  the  Tuileries. 
They  and  all  the  rest  went  down  to  the  apartments  of  the  queen. 
We  saw  the  royal  family  defile  between  two  lines  formed  by  Swiss 
grenadiers  and  those  of  the  battalions  of  the  Petit  Pères  and  the 
Filles  Saint  Thomas.  They  were  so  pressed  on  by  the  crowd  that 
during  the  passage  the  queen  was  robbed  of  her  watch  and  purse. 
A  man  of  terrible  stature  and  atrocious  countenance,  such  as 
seen  at  the  head  of  every  insurrection,  approached  the  Dauphin, 
whom  the  queen  was  holding  by  the  hand,  lifted  him  up,  and  took 
him  in  his  arms.  The  queen  uttered  a  cry  of  terror,  and  nearly 
fainted.  The  man  said  to  her,  '  Do  not  be  afraid,  I'll  do  him  no 
harm,'  and  restored  him  to  her  at  the  entrance  of  the  hall. 

"The  assailants  were  ignorant  that  the  king  and  his  family 
had  betaken  themselves  to  the  bosom  of  the  Assembly  ;  and  those 
who  defended  the  palace  on  the  side  of  the  court  were  also  igno- 
rant ;  it  is  presumed  that  if  they  had  been  informed  the  siege 
would  not  have  taken  place. 

"The  Marseillais  began  to  drive  from  their  posts  several 
Swiss,  who  gave  way  without  resistance  ;  some  of  the  assailants 
began  to  shoot  them,  and  some  Swiss  officers,  indignant  at  seeing 


THE    TRMTH  OF  AUGUST 


35 


their  soldiers  fall,  and  believing,  perhaps,  that  the  king  was  still 
at  the  Tuileries,  ordered  a  battalion  to  fire.  The  aggressors  were 
thrown  into  confusion,  the  Carrousel  was  cleared  in  an  instant, 
but  they  soon  returned,  animated  with  fury  and  vengeance.  The 
Swiss  only  numbered  eight  hundred  ;  they  fell  back  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  palace  ;  some  doors  were  burst  by  cannon,  others 
by  axe-blows  ;  the  people  rushed  from  all  sides  into  the  palace  ; 
nearly  all  the  Swiss  were  massacred  ;  some  noblemen,  flying  by 
the  gallery  leading  to  the  Louvre,  were  poniarded  or  killed  by 
pistol  shots,  and  their  bodies  thrown  out  of  the  windows.  MM. 
Pallas  and  de  Marchais,  ushers  of  the  king's  chamber,  were  killed 
in  defending  the  door  of  the  council  chamber  ;  many  other  ser- 
vants of  the  king  fell  victims  to  their  attachment  to  their  master. 
I  cite  these  two  persons  because,  with  their  hats  pressed  down  on 
their  foreheads,  and  sword  in  hand,  they  cried,  while  defending 
themselves  with  a  useless  but  laudable  courage,  '  We  do  not  wish 
to  live  ;  this  is  our  post,  our  duty  is  to  die  here.*  M.  Diet  behaved 
in  the  same  way  at  the  door  of  the  queen's  bedroom,  and  met  the 
same  fate.  Mme  the  Princess  of  Tarente  had  fortunately  had  the 
door  of  the  suite  of  rooms  opened,  otherwise  this  horrible  band, 
seeing  so  many  women  together  in  the  queen's  room,  would  have 
thought  she  was  there,  and  would  have  massacred  us  on  the  spot 
if  its  rage  had  been  augmented  by  resistance.  Nevertheless,  we 
were  all  about  to  perish,  when  a  man  with  a  long  beard  exclaimed, 
in  the  name  of  Pétion,  '  Mercy  to  women  ;  do  not  dishonor  the  na- 
tion.' A  peculiar  incident  placed  me  in  greater  peril  than  the 
others.  In  my  distress,  I  believed,  an  instant  before  the  entrance 
of  the  assailants  into  the  queen's  apartments,  that  my  sister  was 
not  among  the  group  of  ladies  assembled  there,  and  I  went  up  to 
an  entresol,  where  I  supposed  she  had  taken  refuge,  to  induce  her 
to  come  down,  deeming  it  important  to  our  safety  not  to  be  sepa- 
rated. I  did  not  find  her  there  ;  I  saw  only  our  maids  and  one  of 
the  queen's  two  heidtikes,  a  man  of  a  very  tall  stature,  and  a  very 
soldier-like  aspect.  I  saw  he  was  pale,  and  sitting  on  the  bed, 
and  I  said,  '  Save  yourself  ;  the  footmen  and  our  people  have 
already  done  so.'  '  I  cannot,'  replied  this  man  ;  '  I  am  dead  with 
fear.'  As  he  said  these  words,  I  heard  a  troop  of  men  hurriedl)'^ 
mounting  the  staircase  ;  they  flung  themselves  upon  him,  and  I 
saw  them  murder  him.  I  ran  to  the  stairs,  followed  by  our  maids. 
The  murderers  left  the  heiduke  and  came  to  me.  The  girls  flung 
themselves  at  their  feet,  and  seized  their  sabres.  The  narrowness 
of  the  staircase  impeded  the  murderers,  but  I  had  already  felt  a 


36 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


terrible  hand  at  my  back  to  lay  hold  of  my  dress,  when  some  one 
cried  from  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  'What  are  you  doing  up  there?' 
The  horrible  Marseillais  who  was  going  to  kill  me  answered  by  a 
hein,  the  sound  of  which  will  never  leave  my  memory.  The  other 
voice  replied  In  these  words,  'We  do  not  kill  women.' 

"  I  was  on  my  knees  ;  my  executioner  left  me,  and  said,  '  Get 
up,  wench,  the  nation  shows  mercy.*  The  rudeness  of  his  words 
did  not  prevent  me  from  feeling  an  inexpressible  sentiment  which 
was  allied  as  much  to  the  love  of  life  as  to  the  idea  that  I  should 
see  my  son  and  all  that  was  dear.  A  moment  before  I  had  not 
thought  of  death  so  much  as  had  a  presentiment  of  the  pain  which 
the  sword  suspended  over  my  head  would  cause. 

"  Five  or  six  men  seized  me  and  the  maids,  and.  having  made 
us  mount  on  the  staging  before  the  windows,  ordered  us  to  cry, 
'  Vive  la  Nation  !  ' 

"  I  passed  over  many  corpses  ;  I  recognized  that  of  the  old 
Vicomte  de  Broves.  The  queen,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
night,  had  sent  me  to  tell  him  and  another  old  man  that  she  wished 
they  would  go  to  their  homes.  '  We  have  obeyed  only  too  often 
the  orders  of  the  king,  under  all  circumstances,'  replied  these 
brave  gentlemen,  '  where  it  was  necessary  to  risk  our  lives  to  save 
him  ;  this  time  we  will  not  obey,  and  will  only  preserve  the  rec- 
ollection of  the  goodness  of  the  queen.' 

'  Mme  la  Roche-Aymon  and  her  daughter.  Mile  Pauline  de 
Tourzel,  Mme  de  Ginestoux,  lady  of  the  Princess  de  Lamballe, 
the  other  ladies  of  the  queen,  and  the  old  Count  d'Affry,  were 
conveyed  together  to  the  prisons  of  the  Abbaye." — Mme  Campan, 
"  Mémoires." 


The  palace  of  the  Tuileries  is  destroyed,  but  the  Lou- 
vre still  remains  to  us. 

On  the  site  of  a  hunting  lodge  which  Dagobert  had 
built  in  the  woods  which  then  extended  to  the  Seine, 
Philippe  Auguste,  in  1200,  erected  a  fortress,  to  which 
S.  Louis  added  a  great  hall  which  was  called  by  his  name. 
The  fortress  was  used  as  a  state  prison,  and  its  position 
was  at  first  outside  the  city,  in  which  it  was  enclosed  in 
1367.     From  the  great  dungeon  tower  in  the  centre  of  this 


THE  LOUVRE  37 

castle,^  which  was  called  the  Louvre,  all  the  great  fiefs  in 
France  had  their  source.  When  the  great  feudatories  came 
to  take  or  renew  the  feudal  oath,  it  was  there  that  the  cer- 
emony took  place.  Thus  when  François  I.  destroyed  the 
great  tower  of  the  Louvre  in  the  building  of  his  new  pal- 
ace, the  expression  that  the  fiefs  were  held  de  la  tour  du 
Louvre  was  changed  to  de  la  cour  du  Louvre? 

The  Louvre  was  greatly  enlarged  by  Charles  V.,  who 
added  many  towers  and  surrounded  it  with  a  moat  which 
was  supplied  from  the  Seine.  He  made  the  palace  into  a 
complete  rectangle,  always  preserving  the  great  central 
dungeon  tower.  In  spite,  however,  of  his  additions,  space 
was  wanting  in  the  labyrinthine  apartments  of  the  Louvre 
for  his  splendid  receptions,  such  as  that  of  the  Due  de 
Bretagne  in  1388,  so  he  only  inhabited  the  fortress  for  a 
short  time,  and  devoted  himself  principally  to  building  the 
Hôtel  St.  Paul,  the  royal  residence  till  Charles  VIL  left  it 
for  the  neighboring  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  which  was  the 
Parisian  residence  of  Louis  XL,  Charles  VIIL,  Louis  XII. 
and  François  I.  When  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  was  com- 
ing to  Paris,  François  decorated  the  old  palace  of  the 
Louvre  for  his  reception.  This  drew  attention  to  its  dilapi- 
dated state,  and  he  determined  to  rebuild  it.  The  great 
tower,  as  strong  as  the  day  it  was  built,  took  five  months 
(1527)  to  destroy.  It  was  especially  regretted  by  the  popu- 
lace, because  they  lost  the  pleasure  of  seeing  great  lords 
imprisoned  there.     The  cost  of  demolition  was  enormous, 

1  The  prisoners  in  this  tower  included— Ferrand,  Comte  de  Flandres,  1214 
(after  the  victory  of  Bou vines)  ;  Enguerrand  de  Coucy  ;  Guy,  Comte  de 
Flandres,  1299  ;  Louis,  Comte  de  Flandres,  1322  ;  Enguerrand  de  Marigny  ; 
Jean  IV.,  Duc  de  Bretagne  ;  Charles  II.,  King  of  Navarre  ;  le  Captai  de  Buch, 
Jean  de  Grailly  :  and  Jean  II.,  Duc  d'Alençon. 

*  A  fragment  of  the  XIII.  c.  fortress  remains  in  one  of  the  walls  of  the 
Salle  des  Cariatides.  To  the  left  of  the  window,  concealed  by  a  door,  is  a 
winding  staircase  of  the  original  building. 


38  WALK'S  IN  PARIS 

"  et  fist  ce  faire  le  roy  pour  appliquer  le  chasteau  du  Louvre, 
logis  de  plaisance."  Under  the  renaissance,  strongholds 
everywhere  began  to  make  way  for  lieux  de  plais  a7ice.  The 
existing  palace  was  begun,  under  Pierre  Lescot,  in  1541. 

"  Francis  I.,  wishing  to  have  at  Paris  a  palace  worthy  of  his 
magnificence,  and  disdaining  the  old  Louvre  and  the  Hôtel  des 
Tournelles,  an  irregular  pile  of  little  towers  and  gothic  pavilions, 
ordered  the  destruction,  in  1528,  of  the  great  tower  of  the  Louvre, 
the  donjon  of  Philippe  Auguste,  from  which  all  the  fiefs  of  the 
realm  were  held.  This  was  an  act  destructive  of  history  itself  ; 
it  was  the  monarchy  of  the  Renaissance  overthrowing  the  old 
feudal  royalty." — Martin,  "■Hist,  de  France'' 

Lescot  continued  his  work  through  the  twelve  years' 
reign  of  Henri  II.  The  palace  which  he  built  was  the 
whole  western  side  of  the  court  of  the  Vieux  Louvre,  and 
the  wing  which  contains  the  Galerie  d'Apollon.  The  pavil- 
ion which  connected  the  two  wings  was  called  Pavillo7t  du 
Roi.  After  the  death  of  Henri  II.,  his  widow,  Catherine 
de  Medicis,  left  the  Palais  des  Tournelles,  and  came  with 
her  children  to  live  in  the  new  palace,  which  she  enlarged 
by  erecting  a  portico  with  rooms  above  it  along  the  quay. 
It  was  whilst  he  was  at  work  upon  these  buildings  that  the 
great  sculptor  Jean  Goujon  perished.  On  the  day  after 
the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  he  had  gone  as  usual  to 
his  work  upon  a  scaffold  ;  he  thought  that  his  art  would 
save  him,  but  a  ball  from  an  arquebus  struck  him  down. 
In  these  buildings  the  Huguenot  gentlemen,  who  were 
"marqués  à  tuer,"  fled  from  chamber  to  chamber,  and 
from  gallery  to  gallery,  and  were  cut  down  one  after  an- 
other, except  M.  de  Lezac,  who  took  refuge  within  the  ruelle 
of  the  bed  of  the  Pnncess  Marguerite,  married  six  days 
before  to  the  King  of  Navarre.  "  Moi,"  says  the  queen  in 
her  memoirs,  "  sentant  cet  homme  qui  me  tenait,  je  me 
jette  à  la  ruelle,  et  lui  après  moi,  me  tenant  toujours  à 


THE   LOUVRE  3g 

travers  le  corps.  Je  ne  connaissais  point  cet  homme,  et 
ne  savais  s'il  venait  là  pour  m'offenser,  ou  si  les  archers  en 
voulaient  à  lui  ou  à  moi.  Nous  crions  tous  deux  et  étions 
aussi  effrayés  l'un  que  l'autre."  The  young  bridegroom, 
Henri  de  Navarre,  for  whom  Catherine  de  Medicis  had 
made  "  les  noces  vermeilles,"  was  amongst  those  whom  she 
wished  to  save.  The  queen-mother  "grilla  si  bien,  pour 
un  matin,  ses  fenêtres,  qu'il  ne  put  jamais  échapper,  comme 
il  en  avait  volonté."  According  to  Brantôme  and  d'Au- 
bigné  (neither  of  them  at  Paris  at  the  time),  Charles  IX. 
stood  at  his  chamber  window,  shooting  down  those  who 
were  taking  refuge  in  the  Pré-aux-Clercs.  ^ 

The  Louvre  was  still  inconveniently  small  for  the  num- 
ber of  persons  who  had  to  live  in  it.  These,  under  Henri 
III.,  included  four  queens— the  reigning  queen,  Louise  de 
Vaudemont  ;  the  queen-mother,  Catherine  de  Medicis  ;  the 
Queen  of  Navarre,  Marguerite  de  Valois  ;  and  Elizabeth 
d'Autriche,  widow  of  Charles  IX.,  usually  known  as  "  la 
reine  Blanche."  When  Marie  de  Medicis,  who  measured 
palaces  by  the  Florentine  Pitti,  arrived  in  France,  she 
could  not  conceal  her  astonishment  at  the  inferiority  of  the 
Louvre.  "Plusieurs  foys,"  says  Cheverny,  "je  lui  ai  ouy 
répéter  depuys  qu'elle  ne  fust  jamais  presqu'en  toute  sa  vie 
si  estonnée  et  effrayée,  croyant  que  ce  n'estoit  le  Louvre, 
ou  que  l'on  faisoit  cela  pour  se  moquer  d'elle." 

Henri  IV.,  therefore,  wished,  in  1595,  to  unite  the 
buildings  of  Catherine  de  Medicis  with  the  other  palace 
which  she  had  built,  and  which,  under  the  name  of  the 
Tuileries,  was  still  outside  the  limits  of  the  town.  For 
this  purpose,  he  ordered  Antoine  du  Cerceau  ^  to  erect  the 

^  The  window  of  the  little  gallery,  marked  by  an  inscription  falsely  record- 
ing this  event  as  having  taken  place  there,  existed  at  the  time,  but  was  walled 
up. 

"^  All  the  plans  of  Du  Cerccaw  still  exist. 


40  WALKS  IN-  PARIS 

(original)  Pmnllon  de  Flore  beyond  the  south  extremity  of 
the  Tuileries,  and  to  unite  it  to  the  Tuileries  of  Philibert 
Delorme  on  one  side,  and  to  the  Louvre  on  the  other,  by 
buildings  which  extended  to  the  pavilion  which  under 
Louis  XV.  took  the  name  of  de  Lesdiguières,  from  a 
neighboring  hotel,  enclosing  the  three  arches  called  Guichets 
des  Sts,  Peres ^  by  which  carriages  cross  from  the  banks  of 
the  Seine  to  the  Rue  de  Rivoli.  The  porticoes  of  Cather- 
ine de  Medicis  were  then  enclosed,  and  an  upper  story 
added,  to  make  them  harmonize  with  the  later  construc- 
tions. 

From  this  time  no  one  touched  the  Louvre  till  the 
supremacy  of  Richelieu,  who  demolished  all  that  remained 
of  the  old  feudal  buildings  (the  north  and  east  façades) 
and  employed  Antoine  le  Mercier  to  continue  the  palace. 
Intending  to  double  the  dimensions  of  the  original  plan, 
this  great  architect  used  each  of  the  existing  wings  as  the 
half  of  a  façade  for  his  new  Louvre,  and  built  two  others 
on  the  same  plan,  so  as  to  make  the  building  a  perfect 
square.  Whilst  the  minority  of  Louis  XIV.  lasted,  Anne 
of  Austria  lived  with  her  children  at  the  Palais-Cardinal, 
now  Palais-Royal,  but  Levau  was  employed  to  continue 
the  works  at  the  Louvre,  and  an  apartment  there  was  be- 
stowed upon  the  exiled  Henrietta  Maria  of  England  (daugh- 
ter of  Henri  IV.),  who  was  treated  with  the  greatest  gener- 
osity by  her  sister-in-law,  A  number  of  hotels  of  the  no- 
bility— de  Bourbon,  de  Longueville,  de  Villequier,  d'Au- 
mont — had  hitherto  occupied  the  ground  close  to  the 
Louvre,  but  those  on  the  east  side  were  now  demolished, 
and  all  the  architects  of  France  were  invited  to  compete 
with  designs  for  a  façade  which  should  be  of  such  mag- 
nificence as  to  satisfy  Colbert,  while  Bernini,  then  at  the 
height  of  his  fame,  was  summoned  from  Italy  for  the  same 


THE  LOUVRE 


41 


purpose.  The  plans  chosen  were  those  of  Claude  Per- 
rault, who  built  the  east  façade,  adorned  with  twenty-eight 
Corinthian  pillars,  called  the  Colonnade  du  Louvre,  for 
Louis  XIV.,  1665-70.  Levau  died  of  grief  because  his 
plan — a  very  noble  one — was  not  chosen.  Still,  the  Louvre 
remained  unfinished,  so  that  Parisians  used  to  say  the  only 
chance  of  seeing  it  completed  would  be  to  make  it  over 
to  one  of  the  four  great  mendicant  orders,  to  hold  their 
chapters  and  lodge  their  General  there.  Louis  XV.  and 
XVI.  did  nothing  more  than  repair  the  buidings  already 
existing,  and  then  came  the  Revolution.  Even  in  the 
time  of  Napoleon  I.,  the  space  between  the  Louvre  and 
the  Tuileries  was  invaded  by  a  number  of  narrow,  dirty 
streets,  which,  with  the  royal  stables  and  several  private 
hotels,  destroyed  the  effect  of  the  two  palaces.  After  the 
Revolution  of  1848,  these  were  swept  away,  and  Napoleon 
III.,  from  the  commencement  of  his  power,  determined  to 
unite  the  Louvre  and  the  Tuileries  into  one  great  whole. 
This  was  carried  out  and  completed  in  1857.  The  differ- 
ence of  the  axis  of  the  two  palaces  was  then  cleverly  con- 
cealed by  the  arrangement  of  buildings  which  enclose  the 
"  Square  du  Louvre,'^  though  the  destruction  of  the  Tuileries 
has  since  rendered  the  design  ineffectual. 

Entering  the  Louvre  from  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  by  one  of 
the  five  entrances  under  the  Favillofi  de  Rohan  in  the  north 
façade,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  Place  du  Carrousel  of 
Napoleon  I.,  which  is  a  great  enlargement  of  the  little 
square  in  front  of  the  Tuileries  occupying  the  site  of  the 
"Jardin  de  Mademoiselle  "  (de  Montpensier  ,  and  originally 
named  from  a  carrousel  or  tournament  which  Louis  XIV. 
gave  there  in  1662.  In  the  centre  of  the  grille  of  what  was 
formerly  the  court  of  the  Tuileries  still  stands  the  graceful 
Arc  de  Triomphe  du  Cn?'?'ousel,  built  in  1806,  by  Fontaine 


42  IVALK^S  IN  PARIS 

and  Percier,  for  Napoleon  I.  The  car  and  horses  which 
surmount  it  are  modelled  in  imitation  of  the  famous  horses 
of  St.  Mark,  restored  to  Venice  by  the  Allies;  the  figures  and 
reliefs  commemorate  the  successes  of  the  first  emperor  at 
Austerlitz,  Ulm,  Presburg,  Vienna,  and  Munich.  The 
initials  and  monograms  of  their  different  builders  mark 
many  of  the  surrounding  buildings.  Opposite  the  point  at 
which  we  entered,  is  the  Pavillofi  de  Lesdiguières,  dividing 
the  renaissance  Louvre  of  Charles  IX.,  adorned  with 
Tuscan  columns  supporting  mezzanini,  from  the  later  build- 
ings continued  under  Louis  XIV.,  which  have  no  mezzanini, 
and  where  the  pediments  rest  on  coupled  Corinthian 
columns  as  a  stylobate.  The  modern  buildings  on  the 
north-east,  occupy  the  site  of  the  Hôtel  de  Longueville, 
famous  for  the  intrigues  of  the  Fronde,^  and  those  on  the 
south-east  beyond  the  entrance  of  the  Square  du  Louvre 
that  of  the  church  of  St.  Thomas  du  Louvre,  which  fell  in 
upon  its  congregation,  October  15,  1739.     The  buildings 


*  This  famous  mansion,  originally  called  Hôtel  de  Vieuville,  was  built  by- 
Clement  Metezeau  for  the  Marquis  de  Vieuville.  He  sold  it,  1620,  to  the  Due  de 
Luynes  (the  tyrant  minister  of  Louis  XIH,),  who  died  in  the  following  year. 
His  widow  sold  it  to  Claude  de  Lorraine,  Due  de  Chevreuse,  whom  she  after- 
wards married,  and  who  received  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  here  when  he  came 
over  to  fetch  Henrietta  Maria.  The  duchess,  celebrated  in  a  thousand  love- 
affairs,  was  driven  into  exile  by  the  enmity  of  Richelieu,  and  at  his  death  only 
came  back  to  be  again  banished  for  a  time  by  the  influence  of  Mazarin.  She 
returned,  however,  to  make  her  hôtel  a  centre  for  the  intrigues  of  the  Fronde, 
seconded  by  her  daughter,  "  qui  avait  les  yeux  capables  d'embraser  toute  la 
terre  "  (Mme  de  Motteville),  and  by  the  Duchesse  de  Longueville,  "  l'héroine 
de  la  Fronde,"  who  eventually  purchased  the  hôtel  and  gave  it  a  new  name. 
Her  daughter-in-law,  the  Duchesse  de  Nemours,  bequeathed  the  hôtel  to  Henri 
de  Bourbon,  Prince  de  Neuchâtel,  whose  daughter  brought  it  back  by  mar- 
riage into  the  family  of  Luynes.  The  hôtel  existed  in  a  degraded  condition  till 
1832,  when  it  was  pulled  down  to  enlarge  the  Place  du  Carrousel.  Another 
building,  demolished  about  the  same  time,  was  the  church  of  St.  Louis  du 
Louvre,  where  a  protestant  congregation  continued  to  worship  during  the  great 
Revolution  (John  Moore,  Journal 0/ Residence  in  France^  December,  1792),  and 
which  contained  the  tomb  of  Cardinal  Fleury,  the  Prime  Minister  of  Louis 
XV.  (who  had  proposed  to  pull  down  the  Louvre  and  sell  the  materials),  rep- 
resented expiring  in  the  arms  of  religion. 


PLACE  DU  CARROUSEL  43 

of  Napoleon  III.  are  surrounded  by  statues  of  eminent 
Frenchmen.     All  around  is  magnificence — 

"  Le  palais  pompeux,  dont  la  France  s'honore." 

Voltaire,  "  Ilcnriade.'" 

The  most  interesting  associations  of  the  Place  du  Car- 
rousel are  those  which  belong  to  the  fruitless  flight  of  the 
royal  family  on  June  20,  lygc/.   / 

"  Madame  Elizabeth  went  out  first  with  Madame  Royale,  fol- 
lowed, at  a  little  distance,  by  Mme  de  Tourzel  leading  the  Dau- 
phin. One  of  the  three  body-guards  accompanied  her.  Either  by 
accident  or  on  purpose,  one  of  the  sentinels  in  the  courts  who,  in 
his  walk,  crossed  the  path  by  which  the  two  princesses  had  to 
pass,  turned  round  just  at  the  time  when  he  was  near  them 
and  about  to  meet  them.  Madame  Royale  remarked  it,  and 
whispered  to  Madame  Elizabeth,  My  atint,  we  are  recognized. 
They  left  the  court,  however,  without  being  remarked,  and 
followed,  as  I  have  already  said,  by  Mme  de  Tourzel  and  the 
young  prince,  crossed  the  Little  Carrousel  to  the  court  of  the 
Rue  de  l'Echelle,  where  M.  de  Fersen  was  waiting  for  them  with 
a  carriage.  It  was  a  hired  vehicle,  resembling,  in  its  shape  and 
by  the  horses  that  drew  it,  what  is  called  in  Paris  a  fiacre.  He 
had  hired  it  in  a  distant  quarter,  and  he  himself  acted  as  coach- 
man, dressed  as  this  species  of  coachman  dresses.  He  was  so  well 
disguised  that  while  he  was  waiting,  having  already  in  the  carriage 
the  two  princesses,  the  Dauphin  and  Mme  de  Tourzel,  an  empty 
fiacre  stopped  near  him,  and  the  driver,  who  thought  he  was 
addressing  one  of  his  comrades,  commenced  a  conversation  on 
such  subjects  as  ordinarily  interest  this  class  of  men  ;  the  con- 
versation lasted  a  long  time,  and  M.  de  Fersen  sustained  it  with 
such  sufficient  presence  of  mind  in  the  slang  of  hackmen,  that  his 
brother-whip  had  no  suspicion.  He  got  rid  of  him  after  having 
giving  him  a  pinch  of  snuff  from  a  shabby  box  which  he  had. 
Soon  afterwards  the  king  arrived,  followed  by  the  second  body- 
guard ;  there  had  been  a  pretty  long  interval  between  his  leaving 
the  palace  and  the  departure  of  the  first  party,  but  it  was  equally 
fortunate,  although  one  of  the  buckles  of  his  shoes  broke  quite 
near  the  sentinel  of  the  gate  of  the  Carrousel,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  fix  it  under  his  very  eyes.  The  queen,  who  was  to  come  last, 
caused  half  an  hour's  delay  and  gave  the  travellers  much  anxiety. 


44 


WALKS  IN  PARTS 


The  third  body-guard  had  been  left  to  accompany  her  and  give 
her  his  arm.  All  went  well  as  far  as  the  great  gate  of  the  Cour 
Royale,  but,  just  as  she  was  leaving,  she  saw  the  carriage  of  M. 
de  Lafayette  approaching  with  torches  and  his  ordinary  attend- 
ants ;  he  was  going  home,  and  crossing  the  Carrousel  to  reach 
the  Pont-Royal.  The  queen  had  on  a  hat  that  hid  her  face.  The 
night  was  very  dark  ;  she  drew  up  against  the  wall  to  let  the  car- 
riage pass.  Having  escaped  this  danger,  she  told  her  attendant 
to  take  her  to  the  Little  Carrousel,  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de 
l'Echelle,  about  two  hundred  paces  from  the  spot  where  they 
were.  The  man  knew  less  of  Paris  than  she  did  ;  it  was  danger- 
ous to  ask  the  way  so  close  to  the  gate  of  the  Tuileries  ;  they 
turned,  by  chance,  to  the  right  instead  of  to  the  left,  passed  the 
wickets  of  the  Louvre,  Crossed  the  Pont-Royal,  and  wandered 
about  a  long  time  on  the  quays  and  in  the  Rue  du  Bac.  They 
were  compelled  at  last  to  make  up  their  minds  to  ask  their  way. 
A  sentinel  on  the  bridge  pointed  it  out.  They  had  to  retrace 
their  steps,  repass  the  wickets,  and  skirt  the  courts  of  the  Tuiler- 
ies to  arrive  at  the  Rue  de  l'Echelle.  At  last,  they  reached  the 
vehicle  without  other  accident  than  loss  of  time.  But  this  was  a 
very  serious  loss,  for  the  value  of  every  minute  was  incalculable. 
When  all  the  illustrious  caravan  was  re-united,  they  set  out  to 
catch  the  vehicle  which  was  waiting  for  them  beyond  the  barrier 
Saint  Martin." — Weber,  ''  Mémoires, ^^ 

Under  the  Consulate,  the  Place  du  Carrousel  was  the 
scene  of  the  weekly  reviews  of  Napoleon  I. 

"A  very  curious  spectacle  was  presented  by  these  parades, 
especially  under  the  Consulate.  Under  the  empire  they  might  be 
more  magnificent,  but  in  1800  their  splendor  was  entirely  national  ; 
it  was  the  glory  of  France  that  was  visible  in  these  battalions 
which,  whether  of  recruits  or  veterans,  equally  made  the  stranger 
tremble  who  saw  them  from  the  windows  of  the  palace." — 
Métnoires  de  la  Duchesse  d^ Abrantes. 

The  Place  was  constantly  used  for  military  pageants 
under  the  first  empire,  and  of  these  none  took  a  greater 
hold  upon  the  spectators  than  the  reviews  of  the  Old 
Guard  by  Napoleon  I. 

"  In  this  vast  square  the  regiments  of  the  Old  Guard   were 


PLACE   DU   CARROUSEL  ^^ 

drawn  up  before  being  passed  in  review.  They  presented  oppo- 
site to  the  palace,  imposing  lines  of  blue  twenty  ranks  deep.  Be- 
yond the  enclosure,  and  in  the  Carrousel,  there  stood  in  other 
parallel  lines  several  regiments  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  ready  at 
the  least  signal  to  manoeuvre  and  pass  under  the  triumphal  arch 
which  adorns  the  middle  of  the  railings,  on  the  summit  of  which, 
at  this  time,  the  magnificent  horses  of  Venice  were  displayed. 
The  bands  of  the  regiments  were  placed  on  each  side  of  the  gal- 
leries of  the  Louvre,  and  these  two  military  orchestras  were 
masked  by  the  Polish  Lancers  on  duty.  A  great  part  of  the 
sandy  square  remained  vacant,  like  an  arena  prepared  for  the 
movements  of  all  these  silent  bodies.  These  masses,  disposed 
with  all  the  symmetry  of  the  military  art,  reflected  the  sun  from 
the  triangular  flashes  of  ten  thousand  glittering  bayonets.  The 
air  waved  the  plumes  of  the  soldiers  and  made  them  undulate 
like  the  trees  of  a  forest  bent  by  an  impetuous  wind.  These 
veteran  bands,  mute  and  glittering,  presented  a  thousand  con- 
trasts of  color  in  the  diversity  of  the  uniforms,  the  facings,  the 
arms,  and  the  aiguillettes.  This  immense  picture,  a  miniature  of 
a  battle-field  before  the  combat,  was  admirably  framed,  with  all 
its  accessories  and  striking  peculiarities,  b}'  these  high  majestic 
buildings,  whose  immobility  chiefs  and  soldiers  were  at  that  mo- 
ment imitating. 

"An  indescribable  enthusiasm  was  displayed  in  the  expectant 
attitude  of  the  crowd.  France  was  about  to  say  '  Good-bye  '  to 
Napoleon,  on  the  eve  of  a  campaign  which  involved  dangers 
foreseen  by  the  humblest  citizen. 

"The  clock  of  the  palace  struck  the  half-hour.  At, that 
instant  the  hum  and  murmur  of  the  crowd  ceased,  and  the  silence 
became  so  profound  that  a  child's  voice  could  have  been  heard. 

"Then  those  who  seemed  to  have  life  only  in  their  eyes, 
could  distinguish  quite  a  peculiar  clank  of  spurs  and  clash  of 
swords,  echoing  from  the  sonorous  peristyle  of  the  palace. 

"A  little  man,  dressed  in  a  green  uniform,  with  white 
breeches  and  riding  boots,  suddenly  appeared,  keeping  on  his 
head  a  three-cocked  hat  that  shared  the  prestige  of  the  man  him- 
self. A  large  red  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  floated  over  his 
breast.     A  small  sword  was  at  his  side. 

"  He  was  perceived  by  all  the  multitude  and  from  all  points 
at  once. 

"At  his  appearance,  the  drums  beat  aux  champs,  and  the 
bands  burst  out  with  a  phrase  whose  warlike  expression  called 


46  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

out  every  instrument,  from  the  bass  drum  to  the  softest  fîute.  To 
these  military  sounds,  souls  thrilled,  flags  saluted,  the  soldiers 
presented  arms,  with  a  unanimous  and  regular  movement  which 
shook  the  muskets  from  the  first  rank  away  to  the  last  one  just 
visible  in  the  Carrousel  ;  the  words  of  command  were  repeated 
like  echoes,  and  cries  of  *  Vive  V Empereur'  were  uttered  by  the 
enthusiastic  multitude.  All  was  in  motion,  vibrating  and  quiv- 
ering. 

"The  man,  surrounded  by  such  love,  such  enthusiasm,  de- 
votion, and  vows,  for  whom  the  very  sun  had  dispersed  the  clouds 
of  heaven,  remained  motionless  on  his  horse,  three  paces  in  front 
of  the  little  gilded  squadron  which  followed  him,  having  the 
Grand  Marshal  on  his  left,  the  Marshal  on  duty  at  his  right.  In 
the  midst  of  all  the  emotions  excited  by  him,  no  line  in  his  face 
moved. 

"  Yes.  Even  so.  Such  was  he  at  Wagram  in  the  midst  of  the 
fire,  such  was  he  at  the  Moskowa  among  the  dead." — Balzac,  "  Z^ 
Rendezvous .'' 


The  first  French  sovereign  who  formed  a  collection  of 
pictures  was  François  I.  This  was  enormously  increased, 
under  Louis  XIV.,  by  Colbert,  who  bought  for  a  ridicu- 
lously small  sum  the  greater  part  of  the  collection  of  pict- 
ures and  drawings  of  Charles  I.  of  England,  of  which  the 
original  purchaser  was  Everard  Jabach  the  banker,  who 
was  afterwards  compelled  by  poverty  to  re-sell  them.  This 
became  the  germ  of  the  existing  collection,  enriched 
under  Louis  XV.  by  the  sale  of  the  Prince  de  Carignan 
and  by  works  ordered  from  the  best  French  artists  of  the 
time,  and,  under  Louis  XVL,  by  a  collection  of  Flemish 
pictures.  Under  the  Republic,  the  pictures  at  Versailles 
were  added  to  those  of  Paris,  and  the  collections  were 
offered  to  the  public  as  Le  Mtcscum  de  la  République. 
With  the  Italian  campaigns  of  Napoleon  I .,  such  a  vast 
mass  of  works  of  art  deluged  Paris  as  even  the  immense 
galleries  of  the  Louvre  were  quite  insufficient  to  contain. 


LE   MUSEE   DU   LOUVRE  47 

"  Sous  quels  débris  honteux,  sous  quel  amas  rustique 
On  laisse  ensevelir  ces  chefs-d'œuvres  divins  ! 
Quel  barbare  a  mêlé  sa  bassesse  gothique 
A  toute  la  grandeur  des  Grecs  et  des  Romains  !  " 

Voltaire, 

"  Vous  avez  enrichi  le  Muséum  de  Paris  de  plus  de 
cinq  cents  objets,  chefs-d'œuvre  de  l'ancienne  et  de  la 
nouvelle  Italie  ;  et  qu'il  a  fallu  trente  siècles  pour  pro- 
duire," said  Napoleon  to  his  soldiers  after  the  taking  of 
Mantua.  But  nearly  the  whole  of  this  collection  was 
restored  to  its  rightful  owners  in  18 15.  Under  Louis 
Philippe  and  the  second  empire  a  vast  number  of  be- 
quests added  greatly  to  the  wealth  of  the  original 
Museum. 

The  collections  of  the  Louvre  are  of  various  kinds — 
paintings,  drawings,  engravings,  ancient  sculpture,  sculpt- 
ure of  the  middle  ages  and  renaissance,  modern  French 
sculpture,  Assyrian  antiquities,  Egyptian  antiquities,  Greek 
and  Etruscan  antiquities,  Algerine  museum,  marine  mu- 
seum, ethnographical  museum,  collection  of  enamels  and 
jewels,  the  Sauvageot  museum,  the  Campana  museum,  the 
La  Gaze  museum,  the  Oriental  museum,  the  Le  Noir 
museum.  It  is  not  possible  to  visit  many  of  these  col- 
lections separately  without  crossing  and  re-crossing  others. 
As  those  who  are  only  a  short  time  in  Paris  will  prefer 
to  take  the  more  important  collections  on  the  first  floor 
first,  we  will  begin  with  those,  entered  on  the  right  of  the 
Pavilion  Sully,  which  faces  the  Arc  du  Garrousel  in  the 
centre  of  the  front  of  the  Louvre.  The  staircase  (in  part 
of  the  building  of  François  I.)  is  due  to  Henri  II.,  and 
bears  his  chiffre,  arms,  and  emblems  frequently  repeated  ; 
its  sculptures  are  by  Jean  Goujon.  Reaching  the  first 
floor,  a  door  on  the  right  opens  into  the  Salle  des  Seavces, 


48  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

containing  the  collections  bequeathed  to  the  Louvre  by 
M.  Louis  La  Caze,  1870.  Each  room  should  be  visited 
from  right  to  left.     We  may  notice  in  this  room — 

221.  Largilliere  :  Portrait  of  President  de  Laage. 

165.  Boucher  :  Female  Portrait. 

260.  Watteau  :  "Gilles" — of  the  Comédie  Italienne. 

*242.  Rigaud :  Portrait  of  De  Créqui,  Duc  de  Lesdiguières. 

78.  N.  Macs,  1648  :  Grace  before  Meat. 

16.  Tinto7'et  :  Susanna  and  the  Elders. 

18.    Tintoret  :  Portrait  of  Pietro  Mocenigo. 
32.  Ribera,  1642  :   "Le  Pied-Bot  " — a  young  beggar. 
170.    Chardin  :  Children's  grace. 
37.    Velasques  :  Portrait  of  the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa,  after- 
wards Queen  of  France. 
98.  Rembrandt,  1651  :   Male  Portrait. 

17.  Tintoret:  Virgin  and  Child,  with  Sts.  Francis  and  Sebas- 

tian, and  a  donor  in  adoration.     From  the  gallery  of 
Cardinal  Fesch. 
243.  Rigaud  :  Portrait  of  Président  de  BéruUe. 


VO 


The  pictures  of  Watteau  here,  and  in  the  rooms  de- 
ted  to  the  French  school,  are  chiefly  interesting  as  the 
best  representations  we  possess  of  the  aristocratic  society 
of  France  in  the  time  of  Louis  XV.  and  Mme  de  Pomj^a- 
dour — 

"To  see  this  society,  embroidered,  powdered,  perfumed,  of 
which  Watteau  has  left  so  charming  a  portrait,  who  could  have 
thought  that  it  bore  in  its  womb  the  greatest  and  most  furious 
revolution  that  history  tells  of?  How  could  such  energy  and 
wrath  be  nurtured  into  life  beneath  that  surface  of  wit,  gallantry, 
and  gaiety?" — Balzac,  "  Six  Rois  de  France  y 

The  next  room,  Salle  de  Henri  II.,  only  contains  some 
pictures  by  French  artists,  of  no  great  importance,  though 
No.  47  is  an  interesting  portrait  of  Descartes,  by  Bourdon. 

The  Salo7i  des  Sept  Chemmèes  (forming  part  of  the  Pa- 
vilion du  Roi,  and  once  inhabited  by  the  Cardinal  de  Guise, 
uncle  of  Marie  Stuart)  is  devoted  to  the  French  school. 


SALON  DES   SEPT  CHEMINÉES  ^ç^ 

Its  works  are  exceedingly  stiff  and  mannered.  Yet  there 
are  few  visitors  to  the  Louvre,  especially  young  visitors, 
who  have  not  in  time  become  interested  in  these  pictures  ; 
therefore  we  may  especially  mention — 

240.    Gérard  :  Portraits  of  M.  Isabey  and  his  daughter. 

277.    GuJrin  :  The  Return  of  Marius  Sextus  from  Exile,      He 
finds  his  daughter  weeping  by  his  dead  wife.     Collec- 
tion of  Charles  X. 
1252.    Girodet  :  Attala  borne  to  the  Tomb.     Bought  from  Cha- 
teaubriand for  50,000  francs. 

236.  Gérard:  Psyche  receives  the  first  Kiss  of  Love.  From 
the  collection  of  Louis  XVIH.  Gérard  was  the  most 
popular  painter  of  the  Restoration.  Three  sovereigns 
— of  France,  Russia,  and  Prussia — sat  to  him  on  the 
same  day. 

802.  Mme  Lebrun,  1786  :  Portrait  of  Mme  Mole  Raymond,  of 
the  Comédie  Française.  From  the  collection  of  Na- 
poleon in. 

156.  David  :  Portrait  of  the  artist  as  a  young  man.     David 

gave  this  portrait  to  Isabey  ;  M.  Eugène  Isabey  gave 

it  to  the  Louvre. 

83.  Mme  Lebrun  :  Portrait  of  the  artist  and  her  daughter — a 

lovely  picture.    From  the  collection  of  Louis  Philippe. 

242.  Géricault  :  Scene  on  the  Raft  of  the  Medtcsa,  when,  on 
the  twelfth  day  after  its  shipwreck,  the  brig  A7'gus  ap- 
pears on  the  horizon.  From  the  collection  of  Charles 
X.  This  picture  is  said  to  have  inaugurated  modern 
emotional  French  art-. 
*I59.  David,  1805  :  Portrait  of  Pius  VII.  The  Pope  holds  a 
letter  on  the  back  of  which  is  inscribed,  "  Pio  VII. 
bonarum  artium  patrono."  A  grand  portrait,  executed 
during  the  residence  of  the  Pope  at  the  Tuileries. 
*i6o.  David:  Portrait  of  Mme  Récamier.  A  masterpiece  of 
the  artist. 

"In  her  whole  composition  there  was  nothing  but  simple 
grace,  refinement,  and  goodness,  and  all  these  united  together  and 
harmonized  by  that  attraction  which  forms  the  only  charm  by 
which  love  is  won.  It  was  the  soul  that  animated  her  eyes  and 
shone  through  her  long  drooping  lashes  and  on  her  brow,  flush- 
ing beneath  the  bandeau  of  pale  yellow,  the  only  ornament  for 


5° 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


many  years  of  that  charming  head.  In  the  smile  which  so  often 
opened  her  rosy  lips,  could  be  seen  equally  the  simple  joy  of  a 
young  ravishing  creature,  happy  to  please,  happy  to  be  loved, 
seeing  only  the  joys  of  nature  and  responding  to  the  salutations 
of  love  that  greeted  her  ever)^where  by  an  expression  of  silent 
benignity.  She  was  grateful  to  life  for  being  so  fair  and  so  joy- 
ous."— Mémoires  de  la  Duchesse  d'Abi-anth. 

459.  Prtid'hon,  1808  :  Justice  and  Divine  Vengeance  pursuing 
Crime.  Ordered  for  the  Criminal  Court  in  the  Palais 
de  Justice,  by  Frochot,  préfet  de  la  Seine. 

833.  Frudlwn,  1796  :  Portrait  of  a  Girl  (Marie-Marguerite 
Lagnier).     From  the  collection  of  Napoleon  III. 

251.  CzVW<?/ .•  Endymion  Asleep.  Painted  in  the  Villa  Medici 
at  Rome  in  1792.    From  the  collection  of  Louis  XVIII. 

14g.  David,  1799  :  The  Sabines  ;  designed  in  the  prisons  of 
the  Luxembourg  during  the  Great  Revolution. 

"In  the  midst  of  his  work,  the  turnkey  arrived  with  some 
armed  men.  'Citizen  David  is  summoned  to  the  tribunal,'  said 
a  hoarse  voice.  David  continued  without  answering.  Fortu- 
nately the  turnkey  was  sober  that  day  and  the  men  with  him  were 
not  very  drunk.  Otherwise  our  great  painter  might  have  met  the 
fate  of  Archimedes.  '  Come,  citizen,'  the  turnkey  resumed,  '  thou 
wilt  have  time  to  scrawl  on  the  wall  at  thy  return.  The  tribunal  is 
waiting.'  *  I  only  ask  an  hour,'  replied  David,  scarcely  turning 
round  ;  *  but  I  must  have  it,  I  have  no  time  now.'  The  jailer  went 
out  stupefied  ;  the  reply  was  carried  to  the  tribunal,  and  men- 
tioned in  the  record.  Thus  the  artist  made  the  executioner  wait 
his  good  pleasure.  By  good  luck,  he  waited  in  vain." — Félix 
Joncieres. 

Passing  through  a  room  containing  Etruscan  jewels, 
from  the  left  of  the  circular  vestibule,  we  enter  the  Gal- 
erie d'Apollon.  At  its  portal  is  a  splendid  XVII.  c  grille 
brought  from  the  château  of  Mansart  at  Maisons-sur- 
Seine. 

This  magnificent  gallery,  decorated  with  paintings  by 
Lebrun,  and  stucco  ornaments  by  Girardon  and  other 
great  masters,  contains  a  collection  of  gems  and  jewels. 
Amongst  historic  relics,  we  may  notice — 


GALERIE   D'APOLLON  •  ci 

Case  /. — 

Reliquary  of  the  arm  of  Charlemagne.     Early  XIII.  c. 
Reliquary  of  St.  Henri.     End  of  XII.  c. 
"Cassette  de  St.  Louis." 

Crystal  vase  of  Eleanor  of  Aquitaine.     XII.  c. 
Precious  objects  from  the  altar  of  the  St.  Esprit. 

Case  III.— 

Crown  used  at  the  coronation  of  Louis  XV. 
Casket  of  Anne  of  Austria. 

Case  VII.  {in  a  central  windoiv). — 

Bed-candlestick  and  mirror  of  Marie  de  Medicis,  given 
by  the  Republic  of  Venice  on  her  marriage  with  Henri 
IV. 
Livre  d'heures  of  Catherine  de  Medicis,  with  miniatures 
representing  all  the  family  of  Valois. 

Case  at  the  end  of  room  on  the  left. — 
Sword  and  spurs  of  Charlemagne. 
Hand  of  Justice  and  Sceptre,  used  at  the  coronations  of 

Kings  of  France. 
Clasp  of  the  mantle  and  ring  of  St.  Louis. 
Reliquary  of  Jeanne  d'Evreux,  given  to  the  Abbey  of  St. 

Denis  in  1329. 
Buckler  and  helmet  of  Charles  IX.  in  enamelled  gold. 

Case  at  the  end  of  room  on  the  right. — 
Armor  of  Henri  II. 

The  Salon  Carre  contains  the  masterpieces  of  all  the 
different  schools  collected  in  the  Louvre — 

Qui  sur  tous  les  beaux  arts  a  fondé  sa  gloire."  ' 

Thus,  every  picture  in  this  room  is  more  or  less  worthy 
of  study  ;  we  must  at  least  notice — 

\sl  Wail,  right  of  entrance, — 

426.  Pentgino  {VxqXxo  Vannucci)  :  Madonna  and  Child  adored 
by  Angels.  From  the  collection  of  the  King  of  Hol- 
land.    An  early  work  of  the  master. 

*  Voltaire. 


^2  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

380.  Andrea  del  Sarto  (d'Agnolo),   1487-1553  :    Holy  Family. 
Collection  of  François  I. 

"  Strangely  enough,  this  painter,  so  unhappy  in  real  life,  gives 
to  his  figures  an  air  of  candid  happiness  and  unaffected  goodness  ; 
a  kind  of  innocent  joy  lifts  the  corners  of  their  lips  and  they 
beam,  illuminated  with  a  sweet  serenity,  in  the  warm,  colored  at- 
mosphere with  which  the  artist  surrounds  them.  A  painter  paints 
his  dreams,  not  his  life." — Théophile  Gautier. 

59.  Gentile  Bellifii  (elder  brother  of  Giovanni),  1426-1507  : 
Two  male  Portraits.  From  the  collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
100.  Fatil  Veronese  (Paolo  Cagliari),  1528-88  :  Jupiter  anni- 
hilating Crime.  Brought  from  the  ceiling  of  the  Hall 
of  the  Council  of  Ten  in  the  Ducal  Palace  at  Venice, 
to  decorate  the  chamber  of  Louis  XIV.  at  Versailles. 

"  The  crimes  are  Rebellion,  Treason,  Lust,  and  Embezzlement, 
punished  by  the  Council  of  Ten,  and  Paul  Veronese  has  charac- 
terized them  in  an  ingenious  and  poetic  manner.  He  painted 
this  ceiling  after  a  journey  to  Rome,  where  he  saw  the  antique 
and  Michael  Angelo." — Théophile  Gautier. 

*446.    Titian  (Tiziano  Vecelli),   1477-1576  :  The  Entombment. 

A  replica  of  the  noble  picture  at  Venice,  which  has 

belonged  in  turn  to  the  Duke  of   Mantua,  Charles  I. 

of  England,  and  Louis  XIV. 
536.   Herrera    (Francisco    de),    1576-1656  :    S.    Basil  dictating 

his  Rule.     From  the  collection  of  Marshal  Soult. 
*4io.  Rembrandt  (van  Ryn),  1608-69  •  The  Carpenter's  Home. 

Signed  1640. 

"  Rembrandt  takes  for  his  background  a  humble  Dutch  inte- 
rior, with  its  brown-toned  walls,  its  funnel-shaped  chimney  lost 
in  shadow,  and  its  narrow  window,  from  which  a  ray  of  light 
penetrates  through  the  yellow  panes  ;  he  paints  a  mother  stooping 
over  the  cradle  of  a  child,  a  mother,  nothing  more,  with  her 
bosom  lighted  from  a  side  window  ;  near  her  an  old  matron,  and 
beside  the  window  a  carpenter  at  work  planing  some  pieces  of 
wood.  Such  is  his  manner  of  comprehending  the  Virgin,  St. 
Anne,  the  child  Jesus,  and  St.  Joseph.  He  renders  the  scene 
more  domestic,  more  human,  more  commonplace,  if  you  like, 
than  it  has  ever  been  painted.  You  are  at  liberty  tosee  in  it  onl}^ 
the  poor  family  of  a  carpenter,   but  the  ray  which   strikes  the 


SALON   CARRf:  53 

cradle  of  the  infant  Jesus  indicates  that  he  is  God,  and  that  from 
this  liunible  cradle  will  burst  forth  the  light  of  the  world." — 'J'hc- 
ophilc  Gautier. 

"  A  rustic  interior.  Mary,  seated  in  the  centre,  is  suckling 
her  Child.  St.  Anne,  a  fat,  Flemish  grandame,  has  been  reading 
the  volume  of  the  Scriptures,  and  bends  forward  in  order  to  re- 
move the  coverlet,  and  look  in  the  Infant's  face.  A  cradle  is 
near.  Joseph  is  seen  at  work  in  the  background." — Jameson, 
''Legends  of  the  Madonna^ 

370.  Adrian  van   Ostade  :  The   Schoolmaster.      Signed    1662. 

Collection  of  Louis  XVI. 
325.   Gtiido  Rent,  1575-1642  :  Deïanira  and  the  Centaur  Nessus. 

Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*  Unnumbered.    Perugino  (long  attributed  to  Raffaelle):  Apollo 
and  Marsyas.    An  exquisitely  beautiful  picture.     From 
the  Palazzo  Litta  at  Milan. 
Un.  Jehan  Perçai,  ox  Jehan  de  Paris:  Madonna  and  the  Donor. 

2Jid( Right)  Wall— 

434.  N.  Potissin  :  St.  Francis  Xavier  raising  a  Girl  to  Life  at 
Cangorima  in  Japan.  Painted  1640.  Collection  of 
Louis  XV. 

41g.  Re^nbratidt  :  Portrait  of  a  Woman.     1654. 

526.  Gérard  Terbu7'g  :  A  Soldier  offering  Gold  to  a  Young 
Woman.     Collection  of  Louis  XVI. 

293.  Gabriel  M etsti  :  An  Officer  receiving  the  Visit  of  a  Lady. 
89.  Philippe  de  Champaigne,  1602-74  :  His  own  Portrait.  His 
birth-place,  Brussels,  is  seen  in  the  background. 
Painted  1668. 
*i2i.  Gérard  Dou,  1598-1674  :  The  Woman  with  the  Drops)'. 
Signed  1663.  This  picture  was  bought  by  the  Elector 
Palatine  for  30,000  florins,  and  given  by  him  to  Prince 
Eugène.  At  the  death  of  the  Prince,  it  was  placed  in 
the  Royal  Gallery  at  Turin.  At  the  moment  of  his 
abdication,  Charles  Emmanuel  IV.  gave  it  to  Clausel, 
Adjutant-General  of  the  army  of  Italy,  in  gratitude 
for  the  loyalty  with  which  he  had  carried  out  the  mis- 
sion entrusted  to  him.  Clausel  gave  it  to  the  French 
nation. 

229.  Sebastian  del  Piombo  (Sebastiano  Luciani),  1485-1547  : 
The  Visitation.  Signed  1521.  The  design  has  been 
attributed  to  Michelangelo. 


54  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

87.  Bronzino  (Agnolo  di   Cosimo),  1502-1572  :   Portrait  of  a 

Sculptor.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*539-  Mtuillo  (Bartholomé  Esteban),  1616-82  :  The  Immaculate 

Conception.     Bought,  1852,  from  the  heirs  of  Marshal 

Soult,  for  615,500  francs. 
*96.  Paul  Veronese  :  The  Supper  at  the   House  of  Simon  the 

Pharisee.     Painted    1570-75  for  the   refectory   of   the 

Servi  at  Venice,  and  given  by  the  Republic  to  Louis 

XIV.  in  1665.    This  is  only  one  of  four  great  "  Cenas" 

painted  by  the  master. 

"These  four  Holy  Suppers,  marvellous  agapœ  of  painting, 
were  assembled  together  at  Paris  in  the  years  vii.  and  viii.  A 
prodigious  exhibition,  from-  which  we  do  not  see  that  the  art  of 
that  epoch  profited  much  in  regard  to  color." — Théophile  Gautier, 

*452.  Titian  :  Alfonso  I.  of  Ferrara  (fourth  husband  of  Lucre- 
zia  Borgia),  and  Laura  de'  Dianti,  first  his  mistress, 
afterwards  his  wife,  whom  he  called  "Eustochia" — 
the  happy  choice.  From  the  collection  of  Charles  I., 
afterwards  of  Louis  XIV. 

*523.  Incognito  (probably  Franciabigio)  :  Portrait  of  a  Young 
Man.  In  the  Pitti  Palace  at  Florence  is  an  almost 
similar  portrait  by  Franciabigio. 

"A  sombre  portrait  of  a  young  man  standing,  with  his  elbow 
on  a  ledge.  His  hollow  eyes  are  sunk  under  a  marked  bony 
brow.  His  hair,  cap,  and  dress  are  black.  The  forms  of  the 
face  and  hands  are  scant  in  flesh  and  broken  in  contour,  the  cavi- 
ties and  retreating  parts  in  deep,  unfathomable  shadow." — Crowe 
and  Cavalcaselle. 

82.  Paris  Bordone,  1 500-70  :   Portrait. 
202.  Domenico  Ghirlandajo,  1449-94  :  The  Visitation,     An  ad- 
mirable picture  from  St.  Maria  degli  Angeli  at  Flor- 
ence. 

■^363.  Raffaelle  :  Madonna  and  Child,  "  La  Vierge  au  Voile" 
or  "au  Diadème,"  The  Madonna  lifts  a  veil  to  show 
the  Infant  to  St.  John,  who  kneels  in  adoration.  This 
picture  belonged  to  Phélypeaux,  Marquis  de  la  Vril- 
lière,  then  to  the  Comte  de  Toulouse,  and  afterwards 
to  the  Prince  de  Carignan,  who  sold  it  to  Louis  XV. 

^462.  Lionardo  da  Vinci,  1452-1519  :  Portrait  of  Mona  Lisa 
("La  Joconde"),  wife  of  Francesco  del  Giocondo,  the 


SALOK   CARRÉ 


55 


friend  of  the  artist.  This  portrait,  a  miracle  of  paint- 
ing, in  which  the  art  of  portraiture  has  probably  ap- 
proached nearest  to  perfection,  occupied  the  artist 
four  years,  and  he  then  pronounced  it  unfinished.  A 
thousand  explanations  have  been  given  of  this  "  sphinx 
of  beauty."     The  picture  was  bought  by  François  I. 

150.  Vandyke:  Portraits  of  Jean  Grusset  Richardot,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Privy  Council  of  the  Netherlands,  and  his 
son.  Sometimes  attributed  to  Rubens.  Collection 
of  Louis  XVI. 

543.  Mtirillo  :  The  Holy  Family.  The  Virgin,  seated,  holds 
the  Holy  Child,  to  whom  St.  John,  standing  by  the 
Kneeling  St.  Elizabeth,  presents  a  cross.  Collection 
of  Louis  XVL 

121.  Annibale  Caracci,  1560-1609  :  Appearance  of  the  Virgin 
to  SS.  Luke  and  Catherine.  Painted  for  the  cathedral 
of  Reggio. 
*i62.  F«;?  ivi'r/C',  1 390-1441  :  "  La  Vierge  au  Donateur."  The 
Holy  Child  blesses  the  kneeling  old  man,  who  ordered 
this  picture  as  an  ex-voto  ;  an  angel  crowns  the  Ma- 
donna. Bought  by  François  L  from  the  Duke  of 
Urbino. 

"  The  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  throne,  holding  in  her  arms  the 
Infant  Christ,  who  has  a  globe  in  his  left  hand,  and  extends  the 
right  in  the  act  of  benediction.  The  Virgin  is  attired  as  a  queen, 
in  a  magnificent  robe  falling  in  ample  folds  around  her,  and 
trimmed  with  jewels  ;  an  angel,  hovering  with  outstretched  wings, 
holds  a  crown  over  her  head.  On  the  left  of  the  picture,  a  votary, 
in  the  dress  of  a  Flemish  burgomaster,  kneels  before  a  prie-dieu, 
on  which  is  an  open  book  ;  and  with  clasped  hands  adores  the 
Mother  and  her  Child.  The  locality  represents  a  gallery  or  por- 
tico paved  with  marble,  and  sustained  by  pillars  in  a  fantastic 
Moorish  style.  The  whole  picture  is  quite  exquisite  for  the  deli- 
cacy of  color  and  execution." — Jamesoti^  ^^  Legends  of  the  Ma- 
donna.'' 

447.   Nicholas  Poussin,   1650  :  A  noble  portrait  of  the  artist, 
aged  56. 
*364.  Raffaelle  :  The  Holy  Family. 

*368.  Raffaelle:  St.  Michael,  painted,  1504,  for  Guidobaldo  di 
Montefeltro,  Duke  of  Urbino. 
123.   Annibale  Caracci  :  Pietà. 


56  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Wall  of  Exit— 

87.   Philippe  de  Chai/ipaigne  :  Portrait  of  Cardinal  Richelieu. 
From  the  Hôtel  de  Toulouse. 
*365.  Raffaelle  :  Holy  Family.     The  Madonna  holds    up    the 
Child  in  his  cradle  ;  St.  Elizabeth  presents  the  little  St. 
John. 

"  In  care  and  uniformity  of  execution,  in  fulness  and  grand- 
eur of  the  nude,  in  breadth  and  delicacy  of  drapery,  in  lightness 
and  freedom  of  motion,  and  in  powerful  effects  of  color,  this 
work  approaches  most  nearly  to  the  Transfiguration." — IVoagen. 

375.  School  of  Raffaelle:  Abundance  —  evidently  executed 
under  the  direction  of  Raffaelle. 

232.  Luini  (Bernardino),  c,  1530  :  Salome,  with  the  head  of 
John  the  Baptist.  Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*362.  Raffaelle:  "La  Belle  Jardinière,"  1507.  The  Madonna 
sits  amongst  flowering  shrubs  ;  the  Infant  Christ 
stands  at  her  knee  ;  St.  John  kneels.  The  picture  was 
painted  by  Raffaelle  for  the  city  of  Siena,  and  bought 
by  François  I.  It  has  been  injured  in  parts,  and  over- 
painted. 

394.  Andrea  Solario,  ob.  c.  1530  :  "  La  Vierge  à  l'oreiller 
vert" — named  from  the  pillow  upon  which  the  Child 
is  lying.  This  picture,  perhaps  from  a  drawing  o~f 
Lionardo,  was  given  by  Marie  de  Medicis  to  the  con- 
vent of  the  Cordeliers  at  Blois,  whence  it  passed  to  the 
gallery  of  Cardinal  Mazarin. 
79.  Philippe  de  Champaigne  :  The  Dead  Christ.  From  the 
church  of  Port  Royal. 

301.  fouvenet  :  The  Descent  from  the  Cross,  1697. 

"  Jouvenet,  a  grave  and  learned  artist,  with  a  certain  majesty, 
the  breadth  of  whose  compositions  somewhat  recall  Veronese,  is 
to  Poussin  and  Lesueur  what  the  Caracci  and  Dominichino  are 
to  Lionardo  and  Raphael." — Henri  Martin. 

477.  Rigatid{^yxc\xi\h€),  1659-1743.  Portrait  of  Jacques-Bé- 
nigne Bossuet,  Bishop  of  Meaux  ;  painted  for  his 
family,  afterwards  in  the  collection  of  Louis  XVIII. 

288,  289.  Manling  (Hans),  flourished  1470-1484  :  Sts.  John 
Baptist  and  Mary  Magdalene.  From  the  gallery  of 
Lucien  Bonaparte, 


SALON  CARRÉ  ^y 

208.  llolhàn  {//ans)  le  Jeune,  1498-1554  :  Portrait  of  Erasmus. 
Collection  of  Charles  1.,  afterwards  of  Louis  XIV. 
*459.  Lionardo  da  Vinci  :  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  Anne — 
"La  Sainte  Anne."  An  authentic  and  important 
picture,  brought  from  Italy  by  Cardinal  de  Richelieu, 
and  taken  from  the  Palais  Cardinal  to  the  collection 
of  Louis  XIV.  The  sketches  for  this  picture  are  at 
Windsor. 
37.  Antonello  da  /\/essina  :  Male  Portrait.  From  the  Palazzo 
Martinengo  at  Venice,  afterwards  in  the  Galerie 
Pourtalès. 

"  A  marvel,  a  masterpiece,  a  miracle  of  painting." — Théophile 
Gantier. 

46.  Guercino  (Giovanni  Francesco  Barbieri),  1 591-1666  :  The 
Patron  Saints  of  Modena — Gemignano,  George,  J. 
Baptist,  and  Peter  Martyr.  Ordered  by  the  Duke  of 
Modena  in  1651  for  the  church  of  St.  Pietro. 

Left  Wall.— 

433.  N.  Ponssin  :  The  Vision  of  St.  Paul.  Collection  of 
Scarron,  afterwards  of  Louis  XIV. 

523.  Zt-j-z/é'^r  (Eustache),  1617-16.55  :  Appearance  of  St.  Scho- 
lastica  to  St.  Benedict,  From  the  Abbey  of  Marmou- 
tiers,  near  Tours. 

433.  Rubens  (Peter  Paul),  1577-1640  :  Tomyris,  Queen  of 
Scythia,  causes  the  head  of  Cyrus  to  be  plunged  into 
a  bath  of  blood.  Collection  of  Louis  XIV.  A  repe-- 
tition  of  subject,  somewhat  altered,  is  in  the  gallery 
of  Lord  Darnley,  at  Cobham  in  Kent. 
*395-  Paul  Veronese  :  The  Feast  of  Cana.  A  picture  30  feet 
wide,  from  the  refectory  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Giorgio 
at  Venice.  An  important  picture,  if  only  from  the 
portraits  introduced,  including  Francis  I.,  Eleanore 
of  Austria,  and  Charles  V.  *  Amongst  the  group  of 
musicians  are  Titian  and  Tintoret,  Bassano,  and  Paul 
Veronese  himself. 

"The  scene  is  a  brilliant  atrium,  surrounded  by  majestic 
pillars.  The  tables  at  which  the  guests  are  seated  form  three 
sides  of  a  parallelogram  ;  the  guests  are  supposed  to  be  almost 
entirely  contemporary   portraits,    so  that    the    figures    of    Christ 


58 


WALJ^S  lA^  PARIS 


and  the  Virgin,  of  themselves  suflSciently  insignificant,  entirely 
sink  in  comparison.  Servants  with  splendid  vases  are  seen  in 
the  foreground,  with  people  looking  on  from  raised  balustrades, 
and  from  the  loggie  and  roofs  of  distant  houses.  The  most 
remarkable  feature  is  a  group  of  musicians  in  the  centre  in  front, 
round  a  table  ;  also  portraits — Paul  Veronese  himself  is  playing 
the  violoncello,  Tintoretto  a  similar  instrument,  the  grey-haired 
Titian,  in  a  red  damask  robe,  the  contra-bass." — Ktcgler. 

"  In  this  gigantic  composition,  Paul  Veronese  has  introduced 
the  portraits  of  a  great  number  of  celebrated  contemporary  per- 
sonages. A  tradition,  written  down  and  preserved  in  the  con- 
vent of  St.  George  the  Great,  where  the  '  Marriage  of  Cana  ' 
was  originally  placed,  and  communicated  to  Zanetti,  indicates 
the  names.  According  to  this  key,  the  bridegroom,  seated  at  the 
left  of  the  table,  is  Don  Alphonso  d'Avalos,  Marquis  de  Guast. 
A  negro  standing  on  the  other  side  offers  him  a  cup  of  the 
miraculous  wine.  The  young  woman  by  the  side  of  the  Mar- 
quis represents  Eleanore  of  Austria,  Queen  of  France.  Behind 
her  a  jester,  quaintl)''  hooded  with  a  cap  and  bells,  puts  his  head 
between  two  pillars.  Quite  near  the  young  woman  is  Francis  I., 
then  comes  Queen  Mary  of  England,  dressed  in  a  yellow  robe. 
Further  on  is  Soliman,  Sultan  of  Turkey,  who  appears  in  no 
wise  surprised  at  finding  himself  at  the  Marriage  of  Cana,  a  few 
steps  from  Jesus  Christ  ;  he  had  some  one  to  talk  to  besides.  A 
negro  prince,  descended  beyond  doubt  from  one  of  the  three 
Kings,  the  Abyssinian  one,  we  may  suppose,  or  from  Prester 
John,  is  speaking  to  the  servants,  while  Vittoria  Colonna,  Mar- 
quise de  Pescara,  chews  a  tooth-pick  ;  and  at  the  corner,  at  the 
end  of  the  table,  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  without  heed 
to  chronology,  tranquilly  wears  on  his  neck  the  order  of  the 
Golden  Fleece." — Théophile  Gautier. 

*I9.  Correggio  :  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine.  Mazarin  vainly 
tried  to  persuade  the  Barberini  family  of  Rome  to  sell 
him  this  picture,  which  was  constantly  refused.  At 
last  he  induced  Anne  of  Austria  to  ask  for  it,  when  it 
was  reluctantly  given  up  to  her  entreaties,  and  was 
soon  transferred  by  her  to  the  Palais  Mazarin,  to  the 
great  mortification  of  the  donors.  After  the  death  of 
Mazarin,  it  passed  to  the  gallery  of  Louis  XIV. 
39.  Giorgione  (Giorgio  Barbarelli),  1478-1514  :  A  rural  Con- 
cert. From  the  collection  of  Charles  I.,  afterwards  of 
Louis  XIV.     Two  young  men  and  two  young  women 


SALON  CARRÉ  59 

are  represented  with  musical  instruments  ;  one  of  the 
latter  draws  water  from  a  well. 
*I42.  Vandyke  (Anton  van  Dyck),  1600-1649  •  Charles  1.  of 
England,  a  magnificent  full-length  portrait.  From 
the  Orleans  gallery  in  the  Palais  Royal,  where  the 
picture  seemed  to  have  a  touching  association  with 
the  palace  in  which  the  widow  and  children  of  Charles 
had  so  long  received  a  generous  hospitality. 

"  Under  the  pretext  that  the  page  who  accompanied  Charles 
I.,  in  that  monarch's  flight,  was  a  Du  Barry  or  Barrymore,  the 
Countess  du  Barry  was  induced  to  buy  at  London  the  fine  portrait 
which  we  have  at  present  in  the  Museum.  She  had  the  picture 
placed  in  her  salon,  and  when  she  saw  the  king  uncertain  re- 
specting the  violent  measures  he  had  to  take  to  quash  the  par- 
liament and  form  the  one  called  the  Maupeou  Parliament,  she 
told  him  to  look  at  the  portrait  of  a  king  who  had  bent  before  his 
parliament." — Alme  Campan,  ''Anecdotes.'' 

"The  unfortunate  Louis  XVL  had  a  kind  of  presentiment  of 
his  tragic  fate.  He  had  carefully  read  the  trial  of  Charles  L,  and 
often  spoke  of  it,  telling  his  friends  that  the  perusal  had  been 
profitable  to  him.  One  of  his  most  constant  preoccupations  dur- 
ing the  three  last  years  of  his  reign  was  to  avoid  the  faults  which, 
in  his  opinion,  had  ruined  the  King  of  England. 

"  He  was  often  seen  to  turn  his  eyes  on  the  masterpiece  of 
Van  Dyck,  which  represents  Charles  L  on  foot,  with  his  horse 
behind  him  held  by  an  equerry.  The  picture  had  been  bought, 
in  the  preceding  reign,  by  Mme  du  Barry  for  the  sum  of  twenty 
thousand  livres,  and  placed  by  her  in  a  saloon  where  it  was  con- 
stantly beneath  the  eyes  of  Louis  XV." — Mémoires  secrets. 

260.  Roger  van  der  Weyden  :  Madonna  and  Child. 
*370,  Raffaelle  :  St.  Michael  and  the  Dragon,  painted  for 
Françoise  L  in  1517.  The  king  left  the  choice  of  the 
subject  to  the  painter,  and  he  selected  the  military 
patron  of  France,  and  of  that  knightly  order  of  which 
the  king  was  Grand  Master. 

"  Like  a  flash  of  lightning  the  heavenly  champion  darts  upon 
Satan,  who,  in  desperation,  writhes  at  his  feet.  The  angel  is 
clad  in  scaly  armor,  and  bears  a  lance  in  his  hands,  with  which 
he  aims  a  death-blow  at  his  antagonist.  The  air  of  grandeur, 
beauty,  and  calm  majesty  in  the  winged  youth,  the  rapidity  of 


6o  WALK'S  IN  PARIS 

the  movement,  the  bold  foreshortening  of  Satan,  hurled  on  the 
lava  rocks,  have  a  most  impressive  effect." — Kiigler. 

"  St.  Michael — not  standing,  but  hovering  on  his  poised  wings, 
and  grasping  the  lance  with  both  hands — sets  one  foot  lightly  on 
the  shoulder  of  the  demon,  who,  prostrate,  writhes  up,  as  it  were, 
and  tries  to  lift  his  head  and  turn  on  his  conqueror  with  one  last 
gaze  of  malignant  rage  and  despair.  The  archangel  looks  down 
upon  him  with  a  brow  calm  and  serious  ;  in  his  beautiful  face  is 
neither  vengeance  nor  disdain — in  his  attitude,  no  effort  ;  his 
form,  a  model  of  youthful  grace  and  majesty,  is  clothed  in  a 
brilliant  panoply  of  gold  and  silver  ;  an  azure  scarf  floats  on  his 
shoulders  ;  his  widespread  wings  are  of  purple,  blue,  and  gold  ; 
his  light  hair  is  raised,  and  floats  outward  on  each  side  of  his 
head,  as  if  from  the  swiftness  of  his  downward  motion.  The 
earth  emits  flames,  and  seems  opening  to  swallow  up  the  adver- 
sary. The  form  of  the  demon  is  human,  but  vulgar  in  its  pro- 
portions, and  of  a  swarthy  red,  as  if  fire-scathed  ;  he  has  the 
horns  and  serpent-tail  ;  but,  from  the  attitude  into  which  he  is 
thrown,  the  monstrous  form  is  so  foreshortened  that  it  does  not 
disgust,  and  the  majestic  figure  of  the  archangel  fills  up  nearly 
the  whole  space — fills  the  eye — fills  the  soul — with  its  victorious 
beauty. 

"That  Milton  had  seen  this  picture,  and  that  when  his  sight 
was  quenched  the  'winged  saint'  revisited  him  in  darkness, 
who  can  doubt  ? — 

"  *  Over  his  lucid  arms 

A  military  vest  of  purple  fiow'd 

Livelier  than  Meliboean,  or  the  grain 

Of  Sarra,  worn  by  kings  and  heroes  old 

In  time  of  truce 

By  his  side, 

As  in  a  glittering  zodiac,  hung  the  sword, 

Satan's  dire  dread,  and  in  his  hand  the  spear.'  " 

Jameson's  "  Sacred  atid  Legetidaiy  Art.'' 

42.    Guercino  :  The  Resurrection  of  Lazarus.     Collection  of 

Louis  XVL 
306.  Francia  (Francesco  Raibolini),  1450-1517  :  The  Nativity. 

Collection  of  Napoleon  IIL 
108.  François  Cloitet,  dit  Janet,  1551-1592  :   Portrait  of  Queen 

Elizabeth  d'Autriche,  wife  of  Charles  IX. 
211.  Holbein  the  Younger  :  Portrait  of  Anne  of  Cleves,  Queen 

of  England.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV, 


SALLE   DES   SEPT  MÈTRES  6l 

To  the  right  of  the  Salon  Carré,  is  a  small  room,  con- 
taining some  beautiful  frescoes  by  Luini  from  the  Palazzo 
Litta  at  Milan,  whither  they  were  brought  from  a  ruined 
church  j  also  (1887)  from  the  legacy  of  the  Comtesse 
Duchâtel — 

683,  684.    Sir  Antonio  More  (Moro  van  Dashorst),  1512-15S1  : 
Portrait  supposed  to  represent  Louis  del  Rio,  Maître 
des  requêtes,  and  his  wife. 
*68o.    Memling  :   The  Virgin  and  Child    adored  by  the  Do- 
nors. 

796.  Lngrcs{].A.  Dominque),  1780-1867  :  Oedipus  explaining 

the  Enigma. 

797.  Ingres,  "La  Source,"  1856:  considered  the  most  perfect 

example  of  the  nude  in  modern  painting. 

Leaving  the  Salon  Carré  by  the  door  opposite  that  by 
which  we  entered,  we  reach  the  Grande  Galerie,  imme- 
diately to  the  right  of  which  opens  the  Salle  des  Sept  Mè- 
tres, containing  a  precious  collection  of  the  earlier  Italian 
school — chiefly  brought  together  by  Napoleon  III. 

252.  Andrea  Alantegna  :  The  Parnassus.  Originally  in  the 
collection  of  Isabella  d'Este-Gonzaga,  taken  in  the 
sack  of  Mantua  in  1630. 
156.  Lorenzo  di  Credi  (di  Andrea  d'Oderigo),  1459-1537  :  Ma- 
donna and  Child  with  Sts.  Julien  and  Nicholas.  From 
St.  Maria  degli  Angeli  at  Florence. 
32.  Ansa7io,ox  Sano di Pietro{oi^\(ixv3),\ùf'o(i-'i\'ii:  St.  Jerome 

in  the  Desert. 
31.    Sano  di  Pietro  :  The  Vision  of  St.  Jerome. 
72.  ^^//r«^^  (Giovanni  Antonio,  of  Milan),  1467-1516  :   "La 
Vierge  de  la  famille  Casio."     Al'tar-piece  painted  for 
the  church  of  the  Misericordia,  near  Bologna,  the  best 
work  of  the  artist. 
113.    G7;7^arr/<?  (Vittore),  flourished  1490-15 19  :  The  Preaching 
of  St.  Stephen  at  Jerusalem. 
*25i.   Mantegna  {Kx\àiX&-x,   of  Padua),   1431-1506  :   "La  Vierge 
de  la  Victoire."     A  dedication  picture  for  the  victory 
which  Gonzaga  of  Mantua  obtained  over  Charles  VI IL 
of  France  in  1495.     F.  di  Gonzaga  with  his  wife  kneel 


62  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

at  the  feet  of  the  Virgin.  Behind  are  Sts.  Michael  and 
Andrew.  On  the  right  St.  Elizabeth  kneels  ;  the  little 
St.  John  stands  by  the  Virgin,  with  Sts.  George  and 
Longinus,  distinguished  by  his  lance.  This  is  the 
most  celebrated  easel  picture  of  the  master.  From  St. 
Maria  della  Vittoria  at  Mantua. 
6i.  Giovanni  Bellini,  1427-1516  :  Holy  Family.  From  the 
collection  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  afterwards  of  Lord 
Northwick. 

78.  //  Moretto  (Alessandro  Bonvicino),  1499-1555  :   St.  Ber- 

nardino of  Siena  and  St.  Louis,  Bishop  of  Toulouse. 
*250.   Andrea  Mantegna  :  The  Crucifixion.     A  fragment  from 
the  predella  of  the  altar-piece  of  St.  Zeno  at  Verona. 
The  two  other  portions  of  the  predella  are  in  the  mu- 
seum at  Tours.     The  way  in  which  the  head  of  the 
Crucified  is  thrown  back  is  very  striking. 
85.  Borgog-no7ie  {Amhrogio  Stefani  di  Fossano),  ob.  1524:  St. 
Peter  of  Verona  and  a  (female)  kneeling  donor.    From^ 
the  Litta  Collection. 
427.   Perugino  :  Holy  Family. 

79.  Bonvicino  :  Sts.  Buenaventura  and  Antonio  di  Padova. 
155.   Lorenzo    Costa    (of    Ferrara),    1460-1535  :     Mythological 

scene — painted  for  the  palace  at  Mantua. 
*22i.   Fra  Filippo  Lippi  (di  Tommaso)  1412  7-1469  :  Virgin  and 
Child,  from  St.  Spirito  at  Florence. 

261.  Giovanni  Massone  (end  of  XV.  c.)  :  An  Altar-piece.  In 
the  centre  is  the  Nativity  ;  on  left,  St.  Francis  as  pro- 
tector of  Sixtus  IV.  ;  on  right,  St.  Antonio  di  Padova 
as  protector  of  Cardinal  Giulio  della  Rovere,  after- 
wards Julius  II.  From  the  sepulchral  chapel  of  Sixtus 
IV.  at  Savona. 

*23.  Niccolo  Alimno  (da  Foligno),  painted  c.  1458-1499  :  A 
Predella.  Two  angels  bear  a  scroll  with  the  names  of 
Alunno  and  the  donatrix  Brisida.  From  St.  Niccolo 
at  Foligno. 

275.  Marco  Palmezzafio  (of  Forli),  1456-1537  :  The  Dead 
Christ. 

258.  Cotignola  (Girolamo  Marchesi  da),  i48o?-i550?:  The 
Bearing  of  the  Cross.     Signed. 

-391.   Liica  Signorclli  (of  Cortona),  1441-1523  :  A  Fragment. 

185.   Filipepi  (school  of  Botticelli)  :  Venus. 

41 S.    Cosimo  Tiira  (of  Ferrara),  c.  1420-c.  1498  :   Pietà. 


SALLE    DES   SEPT  AF ETRES  d^i 

307.  F,  Lyancia  :  The  Crucifixion,     Painted  for  Si.  (iiobbe  at 
Bologna. 

272.  Ncri  di  Bicci  (of   Florence),   1419-1486  :   Madonna  and 
Child. 

288.  /'6'j-^/////^  (Francesco  di  Stefano),  1422-1457  :  Dead  Christ, 
and  Scenes  from  Lives  of  Saints. 

157.  Lorenzo  di  Crcdi  :  Christ  and  the  Magdalen. 

290.  Pintiaicchio  (Bernardino  di  Betto),  1454-1513  :   Madonna 
and  Child. 
33.  34.  35-    -S"^"^  di  Pietro  :  Scenes  from  the  Story  of  St.  Je- 
rome. 

187.  Agjiolo  Gaddi  :  The  Annunciation. 

55.    Taddco  Bartolo  (of  Siena),  1363-1422  :   St.  Peter. 
*I92.   Giotto  (di  Bondone)  :  St.  Francis  receiving  the  Stigmata. 
In  the  predella — the  Vision  of  Innocent  III.;  the  Pope 
approving  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  ;  St.  Francis  preach- 
ing to   the   Birds.      Signed.      From   St.  Francesco   at 
Pisa. 
"A  picture  full  of  awe  and  devotion,  and  although  signed 
without    the   prefix    '  Magister,'   certainly  of  later  date   than   the 
works  in  the  Arena  by  the  argument  of  the  single  nail  in  the  feet 
of  the  crucifix,  a  type  adopted  by  Giotto  subsequent  to  his  works 
there." — Lord  Lijidsays  "  CJuistian  Art." 

Left  Wall  {returning), — 

153.  Ciinabuc  (Giovanni    Gualtieri),    1240  7-1302?:    Madonna 

and  Child  with  Angels.     From  St.  Francesco  at  Pisa. 

188.  Taddeo  Gaddi:  A  Predella. 

199.     Bcnozzo  Goz'zoli,  1420-1498  :  The  Triumph  of  St.  Thoinas 
Aquinas.     From  the  Cathedral  of  Pisa. 

154.  Lorenzo  Costa  :  The  Court  of  Isabella  d'Este,  Duchess  of 

Mantua.     From  the  palace  at  Mantua,  afterwards  in 

the  collection  of  Richelieu. 
*I70.    Gentile  da  Fabtiano,  1370 7-1450?:    The   Presentation  in 

the  Temple. 
287.   Pesellino  :    St.    Francis  receiving  the  Stigmata,  and  the 

holy  Doctors,  Cosmo  and   Damian,  taking  care  of  a 

sick  man.     Full  of  simplicity  and  beauty. 
419.    Cosimo  Tura  :  A  monastic  Saint. 
171.    Gejitileda  Fabriano  :  The  Madonna  holds  the  Child,  who 

blesses    the    kneeling    Pandolfo    Malatesta,    lord   of 

Rimini, 


64  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

220.  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  :   The   Nativity.      From  a  church  at 

Prato. 
276.   Domeriico   Panetti  (of    Ferrara),    i46o?-i5i2?:    The   Na- 
tivity. 
664.  Bartolommeo   Montagna   (of  Vicenza),    ob.    1523  :    Three 
Children   playing  on   Musical    Instruments.     A  very 
good  specimen  of  the  master. 
243.  Mainardi  (Sebastiano,  of  St.  Gemignano)  :   Madonna  and 

Child  with  Angels. 
189.  Raffaellino  del  Garbo,  1466-1524  :  The  Coronation  of  the 

Virgin. 
270.  Bart.  Alontagna  :  Ecce  Homo. 

347.  Cosimo  Rosselli  (of  Florence),  1438-1507  :  Madonna  in 
Glory,  with  Sts.  Bernard  and  Mary  Magdalen. 
*i82.  Fra  Angelica  (Fra  Giovanni  da  Fiesole),  1387-1455  :  The 
Coronation  of  the  Virgin.  In  the  predella — the  Story 
of  St.  Dominic.  Vasari  says  that  Fra  Giovanni  sur- 
passed himself  in  the  execution  of  this  picture,  which 
was  the  best  altar-piece  in  the  church  of  Fiesole. 

"  It  is  especially  in  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin  that  Fra  An- 
gelico  has  so  profusely  displayed  the  inexhaustible  riches  of  his 
imagination.  It  may  be  said  that  painting  with  him  served  as  a 
formulary  to  express  the  emotions  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity.  In 
order  that  his  task  might  not  be  unworthy  of  Him  in  whose  sight 
it  was  undertaken,  he  always  implored  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
before  he  began  his  work  ;  and  when  an  inward  feeling  told  him 
that  his  prayer  was  answered,  he  considered  himself  no  longer  at 
liberty  to  deviate  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the  inspiration 
vouchsafed  him  from  on  high,  persuaded  that  in  this,  as  in  every- 
thing else,  he  was  only  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God." — Rio, 
"  Poetry  of  Christian  Art." 

*i84.  j5^^//<r^///(Alessandro  Filipepi),  1447-1510:  The  Madonna 

and  Child  with  St.  John.     From  the  collection  of  Louis 

XVIII. 
409.  Bartolommeo  Suardi,  ob.  c.  1530:  The  Circumcision. 
84.  Borgognone  :  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple.     From  the 

Villa  Melzi. 
354.   Pier  Francesco  Sacchi{oi  Pavia),  early  XVI.  c.  :  The  Four 

Doctors  of  the  Church. 
396.   Andrea    Solario   (of    Milan),    ob.    c.    1530  :     Crucifixion. 

Signed,  1503. 


/,./    GRANDE    GALERIE 


65 


259.  Marco  Uggionc  {yti^iW^axi),  c.  14O0-1530:  Holy  Family  at 
Bethlehem. 

289.  Fiero  di  Cosi/no  {oi  Florence),  1462-1521?:  The  Corona- 
tion of  the  Virgin. 

404.  Lo  Spagna  :  Virgin  and  Child. 

389.  Liica  Signorelli  :  The  Birth  of  the  Virgin.     Collection  of 

Louis  XVIII. 
403.  Lo  Spagna  :  The  Nativity.     Given  by  the  town  of  Perugia 
to  the  Baron  di  Gerando. 

"The  infant  Jesus  lies  on  the  ground  with  his  thumb  in  his 
mouth,  like  a  baby,  not  yet  conscious  of  his  divinity. —  Théophile 
Gautier. 

*I52.  Cima  di  Concgliano  :  Madonna  and  Child  with  Sts.  J. 
Baptist  and  Mary  Magdalen,  and  a  landscape  in 
Friuli.     Signed. 

467.  Bartolo?nmeo  Vivarini  (of  Murano),  ob.  c.  1500  :  St.  Gio- 
vanni Capistrano.     Signed,  1459. 

429.  Pietro  Perugino  :  The  Contest  between  Love  and  Chastity. 
From  the  gallery  of  Isabella  d'Este. 

390.  Luca  Signorelli:  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 

246,  247,   248.    Gio.  Nicola  Manni  :    The   Baptism  of  Christ, 
Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  and  Adoration  of  the*  Magi. 
70.  P./.  Bianchi  ("  Il Prari")  :  Madonna  and  Child. 

Za  Grande  Galerie,  begun  by  Catherine  de  Medicis 
and  continued  by  Henri  IV.,  is  divided  by  marble  columns 
plundered  from  the  churches  of  Paris,  where  they  usually 
served  to  support  a  baldacchino.  It  will  be  found  most 
convenient  and  least  fatiguing  to  take  the  best  pictures  on 
the  right  in  descending  and  those  on  the  left  in  ascending  ; 
but  the  schools  are  divided — first  Italian,  then  Spanish, 
then  German,  Flemish,  and  Dutch.  Numbers  of  artists  are 
usually  engaged  in  copying  the  pictures.  Manon  Vauber- 
nier,  afterwards  the  famous  Comtesse  du  Barry,  was  dis- 
covered by  Lebel,  a  myrmidon  of  Louis  XV.,  when  she 
was  a  copyist  in  this  gallery. 

"It  is  a  piece  of  stupidity  not  to  write  the  subjects  on  the 
frames." — Zola,  "  L' Assommoir  " 


66  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Right:  ist  Division  : — 

1 6.   Mariotto  Albertinelli. 
*227.  Lorenzo  Lotto  (of  Treviso),  1480  7-1554  :  St.  Jerome  in  the 

Desert.     Signed,  1500, 
448.    Titian  :  The  Council  of  Trent.    Collection  of  Louis  XV. 
379.  Andrea  del  Sa7-to  :  Charity.     Signed,  1518.     Collection  of 

François  I. 
337.    Tintoret  (Jacopo    Robusti),   1512-1594:    Portrait   of  the 

Artist. 
274.  Pabna   Vecchio  :    The   Annunciation   to  the  Shepherds. 
Collection  of   Louis   XIV.      A   very  beautiful    Holy 
Family,  with  a  young  shepherd  adoring. 
336.    Tintoret  :  Sketch  for  the  Paradise  at  Venice. 
442.    Titian  :  Holy  Family,     From  the  collection  of  Cardinal 
Mazarin,  afterwards  of  Louis  XIV. 
*463.  Lionardo  da  Vinci:  Bacchus.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
Probably  originally   intended   for  St.   J.   Baptist  and 
altered  to  represent  the  pagan  god. 
231.  Luini  :  The  Holy  Family — the  Holy  Child  asleep.     Col- 
lection of  Louis  XIV. 
102.  Paul  Veronese  :    St.    Mark    crowning    the    Theological 
Virtues.     From  the  Sala  della  Bussola  in  the  Ducal 
Palace  at  Venice. 
*373.  Raffaelle  :  Joanna  of  Arragon,  wife  of  Ascanio  Colonna, 
Constable  of  Naples,     Painted  for  Cardinal  Bibbiena, 
who  gave  it  to  François  I,     Vasari  says  that  only  the 
head  was  executed  by  Raffaelle. 
93.  Paul  Veronese  :  Holy  Family.      From  the  collection  of 

the  Comte  de  Brienne,  afterwards  of  Louis  XIV. 
395.  Andrea  Solario  :  Portrait  of  Charles  d'Amboise. 
*458.  Lionardo  da   Vinci  :  St,  John  Baptist,     Given  by  Louis 
XIII.  to   Charles  I.  ;   afterwards  in  the  collection  of 
Louis  XIV. 
*367.  Raffaelle  (J)  :    St.  Margaret.     Collection  of  François  I. 

"The  famous  St.  Margaret  of  Raffaelle  was  painted  for 
François  I.  in  compliment  to  his  sister,  Margaret  of  Navarre. 
It  represents  the  saint  in  the  moment  of  victory,  just  stepping 
forward  with  a  buoyant  and  triumphant  air,  in  which  there  is  also 
something  exquisitely  sweet  and  girlish  :  one  foot  on  the  wing  of 
the  dragon,  which  crouches  open-mouthed  beneath  ;  her  right 
hand  holds  the  palm,  her  left  sustains  her  robe.     The  aim   of 


LA    GRANDE   GALERIE  67 

Raffaelle  has  evidently  been  to  place  before  us  an  allegory  :  it  is 
innocence  triumphant  over  the  power  of  sin." — Jameson's  "  Sacred 
Arty 

ICI.  Paul  Veronese  :  Portrait  of  a  Young  Woman.     From  the 

Bevilacqua  Gallery  at  Verona. 
230.  Luini  :  Holy  Family. 
*450.    Titian  :    Portrait   of   François   I.       The    king   wears   a 
medallion  of  St.  Margaret  round  his  neck.     From  the 
collection  of  François  I. 
73.  Bonifazio  :  The  Resurrection  of  Lazarus.     Formerly  in 
St.  Luigi  dei  Francesi  at  Rome. 

"  The  gravity  of  the  scene  is  a  little  spoiled  by  a  detail  rather 
too  natural.  One  of  the  Jews  present  at  the  miracle  holds  his 
nose  to  prevent  his  perceiving  the  fetid  odor  of  the  open  sepulchre. 
It  is  a  want  of  taste  ;  but  the  gesture  is  so  true  and  the  personage 
so  well  painted  !  " —  Théophile  Gatiticr. 

*366.  Raffaelle  :  St.  John  Baptist.     This  picture  differs  much 

in  composition  from  that  in  the  Tribune  at  Florence. 
86.  Bronzino  :   Christ   and    the   Magdalen.      Mentioned   by 

Vasari    as    existing    in    St.    Spirito   at    Florence — an 

intensely  vulgar  picture. 
384.    Girolamo  Savoldo  :  Male  Portrait. 
439.    Titian  :  Madonna  and  Child  with  Sts.  Stephen,  Ambrose, 

and  Maurice.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV.     There  is  a 

repetition  of  this  picture  in  the  gallery  at  Vienna. 
52.  Fedeiigo  Barocci,   1528-1612  :  The  Circumcision.     From 

an  Oratory  at  Pesaro. 
309.  Bagnacavallo  :    The    Circumcision.      This   picture   was 

bought  by  Charles  Lebrun  at  the  sale  of  Fouquet,  and 

resold  to  Louis  XIV. 
332.  (On  a  screen.)     Daniele  da  Volterra  :  David  and  Goliath. 

Hard  and  violent,   but   so  masterly  as  to  have  been 

attributed  to  Michelangelo. 

2nd  Division. — 

68.   Pietro  da  Cortona  (P.  Berrettini)  :   Romulus  and   Remus. 

Collection  of  Louis  XV. 
67.   Pietro  da  Cortona  :  Madonna  and  Child,  with  St.  Martina 

offering  a  lily. 
312.  Rembrandt  :  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple. 


68  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

321.  Guido  Reni  :  S>i.  SébdiSiidiii.  Collection  of  Mazarin,  after- 
wards of  Louis  XIV. 

181.  Dometiico  Fed  :  The  Guardian  Angel. 

139.  Lodovico  Caracci  :    Madonna  and   Child.     Collection  of 
Louis  XV. 
9-12.  Francesco  Albani  :  Mythological  Scenes. 

400.  Lionello  Spada  (of  Bologna),  15 76-1622  :  The  Martyrdom 
of  St.  Christopher.  The  giant  kneels  with  bound  hands  : 
the  executioner,  who  has  raised  himself  on  a  step  to 
reach  him,  prepares  to  strike  off  his  head.  Considered 
by  Waagen  to  be  the  masterpiece  of  the  artist. 

257.    Carlo  Maratta  :  Portrait  of  the  Artist. 

129.  Annibale  Caracci  :  Martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen.  Collection 
of  Louis  XIV. 

557.  Zurbaran  :  St.  Apollina.  From  the  collection  of  Marshal 
Soult. 

546.  Murillo  :  The  Miracle  of  St.  Diego — "La  Cuisine  des 
Anges."  The  angels  prepare  the  dinner  of  the  monk 
absorbed  in  his  devotions.  Signed,  1646.  Collection 
of  Marshal  Soult. 

3^^  Division. — 

556.   Zurbaran  :  The  Funeral  of  St.  Pedro  Nolasco. 

548.  Jose  de  ^/^^ra  (L'Espagnolet),  1588-1656  :  The  Adoration 

of  the  Shepherds.     Signed,  1650. 
555.  Zîirbaran  :    St.   Pedro    Nolasco    and    St.    Raymond   ds 

Penaforte. 

4M  Division. — 

*672.  Albert  D tirer  :  Head  of  an  Old  Man. 

343.   Sir  Antonio  More  :  The  Dwarf  of  Charles  V.  with  a  dog. 
*277.  Jan  van  Mabuse  :  Portrait  of  Jean  Carondelet,  Chancellor 
of  Flanders.     Signed,   1517.     In  a  niche  is  the  chan- 
cellor's device  "  Matura." 
279.    Quentin  Matsys  :  A  Banker  and  his  Wife.     Signed,  1518. 

209.  Holbein:  Male  Portrait.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 

210.  Holbein  :  Portrait  of    Sir  Thomas   More,  Chancellor  of 

England.      Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
98.   Lucas  Cranach,  1472-1553  :  Venus.     Dated  1529. 

109.    Cuyp  (Aalbert  Kuyp),  1605-c.  1672  :  Sea  Piece. 

151.  Vandyke:  Portrait  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond.  Collec- 
tion of  Louis  XIV. 


LA    GRANDE    GALERIE  69 

The  twenty-three  large  pictures  which  now  hang  on 
either  side  the  gallery — called  "  La  Galerie  Mcdicis  " — 
were  ordered  from  Rubens  by  Marie  de  Medicis  in  1620, 
to  decorate  the  gallery  at  the  Luxembourg  which  she  had 
just  built.  Painted  especially  for  their  places  in  the  Lux- 
embourg, and  exceedingly  interesting  there,  as  commemo- 
rating the  foundress  and  first  inhabitant  of  that  palace, 
they  are  out  of  place  here.  They  are  not  hung  in  their 
order,  which  is — 

The  Destiny  of  Marie  de  Medicis. 

Her  Birth  at  Florence,  April  26,  1575. 

Education  of  Marie  de  Medicis. 

Henri  IV.  receives  her  Portrait. 

Her  Marriage  with  Henry  IV. 

Her  Landing  at  Marseilles,  Nov.  3,  1600. 

Her  Marriage  at  Lyons,  Dec.  10,  1600. 

Birth  of  Louis  XIII.  at  Fontainebleau,  Sept.  27,  1601. 

Henri  IV.  leaving  for  the  war  in  Germany,  and  placing  the 
government  in  the  hands  of  the  Queen. 

The  Coronation  of  Marie  de  Medicis. 

The  Government  of  Marie  de  Medicis. 

Journey  of  the  Queen  to  Pont-au-Cé,  in  Anjou. 

Exchange  of  the  French  and  Austrian  princesses,  Nov.  9,1615. 

Happiness  of  the  Regency. 

Majority  of  Louis  XIII. 

The  Escape  of  the  Queen  from  Blois,  Feb.  21,  1619. 

Reconciliation  of  Louis  XIII.  with  Marie  de  Medicis. 

Conclusion  of  the  Peace. 

Interview  between  Marie  de  Medicis  and  her  son. 

The  Triumph  of  Truth, 

Marie  de  Medicis  as  Bellona. 

Her  father,  François  de  Medicis,  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany. 

Her  mother,  Jane  of  Austria,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Fer- 
dinand I. 

The  outlines  were  drawn  in  chalk,  under  the  personal 
supervision  of  the  queen,  but  the  paintings  were  executed 
at  Antwerp  ;  the  sketches  for  them  are  at  Munich. 

The  collection  of  Dutch   pictures  is  a  very  fine  one, 


yo  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

though  when  Louis  XIV.  looked  at  those  which  were  here 

in  his  time  he  exclaimed,  "  Otez-moi  ces  magots  !  "     We 

may  notice — 

R.   5.   Backhîiiscn  :  A  Dutch  Fleet. 

91.   Philippe  de  Champaigne  :  Portrait  of  a  Girl. 

574.    Wouvermann  :  Huntsmen  halting  before  a  Public-house. 

516.    Teniers  :  Wine-shop  near  a  river. 

396.  Porbus  le  Jetme  :  Portrait  of  Marie  de  Medicis  :  a  pict- 
ure of  great  interest,  as  the  only  one  preserved  from 
the  fire  of  Feb.  6,  1661,  from  the  portraits  of  kings  and 
queens  of  France  (by  Porbus,  Bunel,  and  his  wife, 
Marie  Bahuche)  which  hung,  in  la  galetie  des  rois  of 
Henri  IV.,  between  the  windows,  nine  on  the  west, 
twelve  on  the  east.  That  of  Henri  IV.  is  only  known 
by  the  engraving  of  Thomas  de  Leu.  This  picture 
happened  to  have  been  moved  into  another  room,  dur- 
ing alterations,  just  before  the  fire  occurred. 
86.  Philippe  de  Chat?ipaigne  :  Louis  XIII.  crowned  by  Vic- 
tory— beneath  open  the  halls  of  the  Ecole  Française — 
from  the  Hôtel  de  Toulouse. 

547.    Vei'kolie  :  An  Interior. 

295.  £.  Metzu  :  The  Chemist. 

308.    Van  der  Meulen  :  The  Passage  of  the  Rhine. 

486.   Slingelandt  :  A  Dutch  Family. 

204.    Van  der  Heyden  :  Village  on  a  Canal. 

143.  Vandyke:  The  Children  of  Charles  I.  (Charles  II., 
James  II.,  and  Mary  of  Orange).  A  charming  minia- 
ture sketch  for  a  great  picture  at  Turin. 

377.    Van  Ostade  :  The  Halt. 

127.    Gerard  Dou  :  Men  weighing  Gold. 

301.    Van  der  Meulen:    Entry    of    Louis    XIV.     and    Marie 
Thérèse  into  Douai,  August,  1667. 
*I29.   Gerard  Don  :  An   Old  Woman  reading  the  Bible  to  her 
Peasant  husband. 

5 M  Division. — 

*400.   Paul  Potter:  "The  Prairie."     Signed,  and  dated  1652, 
when   the  artist  was  twenty-six  (two  years  before  his 
death). 
94.  Philippe  de  Champaigne  :  Portraits  of  the  architects  Fran- 
çois Mansart  and  Claude  Perrault. 


LA    GRANDE    GALERIE  71 

515.    Teniers  le  Jeune  :  The  Village  Festival. 

'^  i'  \  Rembrandt  :  Portraits. 
416.  S 

*527.    G.   Terburg :  The  Music  Lesson.     1660.     From  the  col- 
lection of  Louis  XVL 
*83.   Philippe  de  Champaigne  :  Portrait  of  Suzanne,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  artist,  a  nun  of  Port  Royal,  recovering  from 
dangerous  illness  (fever  and  paralysis)  in  1662,  in  an- 
swer to  the  prayers  of  Sister  Catherine  Agnes  Arnauld 
— a  most  graphic  picture  of  unparalleled  care  in  the 
treatment  of  its  homely  details.     From  the  Convent 
of  Port  Royal. 
551.  Ary  de  Voys  (of  Leyden),  1641-1698  :  Male  Portrait. 
371.    Van  Ostade:  The  Fish  Market. 
78.  Philippe  de  Champaigne  :  The  Crucifixion. 
*I46.    Vandyke  :  Portrait  of  Francesco  de  Moncada,  Marquis 
d'Aytona,  Spanish  general  in  the  Netherlands. 
459.  Rnbens  :  Portrait   of    Elizabeth  of    France,   daughter  of 
Henri  IV.,  who  married  the  Infante  of  Spain,  after- 
wards Philippe  IV.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*I45.    Vandyke  :  Portrait  of  Isabella  Clara  Eugenia,  Infanta  of 
Spain,   Governess  of    the    Netherlands,  as  a  widow. 
Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
27.  Berghejn  :  Landscape  and  Animals. 

6th  Division. — 

462.  Rîibens  :  The  Village  Festival. 

579.    Wynants  (Jan),  c.  1600-c.  1677  :  The  Edge  of  the  Forest. 

155.    Vandyke  :  Mz\e  Y*onx2i\t. 

473.  Ruysdael :  Landscape. 
*I44.    Vandyke  :  Portraits  of  Charles  Lodovic,  Duke  of  Bava- 
ria, and  his  brother.   Prince  Rupert.     From  the  col- 
lection of  Charles  I.;  afterwards  in  the  Salon  d'Apol- 
lon at  Versailles. 

190.  Franz  Hals,  1 5 54-1666  :  Portrait  of  René  Descartes. 

Returning  by  the  South  Wall. — 

582.    Wyntrack  :  The  Farm. 

405.  Rembrandl  :  The  Sa-maritan' s  House.     Dated  1648.     CoK 

lection  of  Louis  XVI. 
689.   Paul  Potter:  The  Wood  at  the  Hague.     1650. 
379.   Isack  7.>an  Ostade,  1617-c.  1654.     A  Frozen  Canal. 


72  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

471.  Rîtysdacl :  Storm  on  a  Dutch  Canal. 
500.  Jan  -van  Steen,  1636-1689.      Flemish  Alehouse  Festival. 
*88.  Philippe  de   Champaignc  :    Portrait    of    Robert    Arnauld 
d'Andilly.      1650. 

"  This  portrait  is  well  conceived  and  highly  finished  in  exe- 
cution :  the  tone  is  warm,  and  the  hand  is  peculiarly  beautiful." 
—  Waageti. 

580.    Wyftants  :  Landscape. 

137.  Vandyke:  "  La  Vierge  aux  Donateurs."  Collection  of 
Louis  XIV. 

2nd  Division. — 

304.  Van  der  Meulen,  1634-1690  :  Entrance  of  Louis  XIV.  and 
Marie  Thérèse  into  Arras,  1667.  Louis  XIV.  and 
Monsieur,  on  horseback,  follow  the  carriage,  which 
shows  how  ladies  used  to  sit  "à  la  portière." 

104.  Cîiyp  :  Cows. 

*I48.  Vandyke:  Portrait  of  a  gentleman  (supposed  to  be  the 
brother  of  Rubens)  and  little  girl.  Collection  of 
Louis  XIV. 

105.  Cuyp  :  Starting  for  a  Ride.     Collection  of  Louis  XVI. 

106.  Cttyp  :  The  Promenade. 

149.  Vandyke  :  Portrait  of  a  lady  (supposed  to  be  sister-in- 
law  of  Rubens)  and  her  daughter.  Formerly  at  Ver- 
sailles in  the  collection  of  Louis  XIV. 

470.  Ruysdael  :  The  Forest. 

674.  Holbein  :  A  Water-mill.  Signed.  Collection  of  Napo- 
leon III. 

2,rd  Division. — 

41.  F.  Bol  :  Portrait  of  a  Mathematician.  Collection  of 
Louis  XV. 

566.    Wouvermann  :  The  Wooden  Bridge  over  the  Torrent. 

528.    Geraj'd  Terburg  :  The  Concert. 

152.  Vandyke  :  Portrait  of  the  Artist.  From  the  Bedchamber 
of  Louis  XIV.  at  Versailles. 

147.  Vandyke  :  Portrait  of  Francesco  de  Moncada.  From 
the  Chamber  of  Louis  XIV. 

514.  Teniers  (David)  :  The  Temptation  of  St.  Anthony.  Col- 
lection of  Louis  XVIII. 

113.  Z>t'Z'/Y;- (Conrad),  XVII.  c.  :   Landscape. 


LA    GRANDE   GALERIE  73 

397.  Porlnis  k  Jeune  :  Portrait  of  Guillaume  le  Vair,  Chan- 
cellor of  France  under  Louis  XIII. 

3^^-  i  l\vi  dcr  Meiilcii  :  Battle  Pieces. 
317-  ) 

472.   Ruysdael  :  Landscape. 

545.    Van  der   Venne  :    Fête  on   the  Peace  between    Belgium 
and  Holland, 

^3^'  !-  Van  Huysum  :  Fruit  and  Flowers. 

237.  ) 

172.    G.  Flinck  :  Portrait  of  a  Girl. 

567.    Wouvermann  :  Departure  for  the  Chase. 

581.    Wynants  :  Landscape. 

417.  Rembrandt:  Portrait  of  a  Young  Man. 

123.    Gerard  Don  :  The  Village  Grocer. 

197.    Van  der  Heist:  Distribution  of  Prizes.     Marvellous  in 

expression. 
536.    Van  de  Welde  :  Beach  at  Schevening. 
569.    Wouvermann  :  A  Stag  Hunt. 
224.   Pieter  de  Hoogh  :  Dutch  Interior. 

19.  Berghem  :  The  Ford. 
128.    Gerard  Doîi  :  The  Dentist.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
461.  Rubens  :  Portrait  of  a  Lady. 
369.    Van  Ostade  :  The  Family  of  Adrian  van  Ostade. 

394-  \  Franz  Porbus  :  Portrait  of  Henri  IV. 

395-  ) 

518.    Teniers  (le  Jeune)  :   Interior  of  an  Alehouse. 
*407.   Rembrandt  :  The  Supper  at  Emmaus.     1648.     Collection 
of  Louis  XVI. 
414.   Rembrandt  :  Portrait  of  the  Artist.     1637.     Collection  of 

Louis  XVI. 
458.  Rubens  :  Portrait  of  Henri  de  Vicq,  Ambassador  from 
the  Netherlands  in   France.     From  the  collection  of 
William  II.     The  portrait  was  painted  by  Rubens  in 
gratitude  for  the  recommendation  of  De  Vicq  having 
caused  his   choice  for  decorating  the  gallery  of  the 
Luxembourg. 
69.  Bretighel  :  The  Battle  of  Arbela. 
*207.   Holbein:  Portrait   of  William  Warham,  Archbishop   of 

Canterbury.      1527.     Collection  of  Louis  XV. 
*2o6.  Holbein  :  Nicholas  Kratzer,  Astronomer  to  Henry  VIII. 
Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
100.   Lucas  Cranach  :  Male  Portrait. 


y4  JVALKS  IN  PARIS 

280,  Lucas  Cranach?  :  The  Deposition.  From  a  Jesuit  con- 
vent in  the  Rue  St.  Antoine,  afterwards  in  the  church 
of  Val  de  Grâce. 

"A  picture  of  the  deepest  religious  feeling.  The  Virgin — 
though  very  German — is  a  creature  of  meekness  and  purity,  lost 
in  the  abandonment  of  sorrow." — Lindsay's  "  Christian  Arty 

/^th  Division,     (Spanish.  ) — 

537.  Morales   (Luiz-"  El    Divino  "),    1 509-1 566  :    The    Cross- 

bearing.     Collection  of  Louis  XVIII. 

538.  Murillo  :   The  Immaculate  Conception.     Collection  of 

Louis  XVIII. 
542.  Muiillo  :  "La  Vierge  au  Chapelet."    Collection  of  Louis 

XVI. 
*547.  Mmillo  :  The  Young  Beggar  Boy.     Collection  of  Louis 

XVI. 
545.  Murillo  :  Christ  bound  to  the  Column  and  St.  Peter  on 

his  knees. 
544.  Mtiiillo  :  The   Agony  of    Gethsemane.      Collection    of 

Louis  XVL 

553.  Velasquez  :  Portrait  of  Don  Pedro  Moscoso  de  Altamira, 

dean  of  the  Chapel  Royal  at  Toledo,  and  afterwards 
cardinal. 

5///  Division. — 

540.  Mmillo  :  The  Birth  of  the  Virgin.  Collection  of  Napo- 
leon III. 

551.  Velasquez:  Portrait   of    Maria    Margareta,    daughter   of 

Philip  IV. 

554.  Velasquez  :  A  Group  of  Men.     Valasquez  and  Murillo 

are  represented  on  the  left. 

552.  Velasquez  :  Philip  IV. — a  full  length — with  a  dog. 

549.  Ribera  :  The  Burial  of  Christ.     Collection  of  Napoleon 

III. 
474.  Domenichino  :  St.  Cecilia.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
344.   Salvator  Rosa  :  Battle  Piece. 

"  An  admirable  picture,  with  an  angry  yellow  light." — Kugler. 

224.   Guido  Reni  :  Hercules  and  Achelous. 
180.  Domenico  Feti  :    Melancholy.       Replica  of  a   picture    at 
Venice. 


LA    GRANDE    GALERIE 


75 


343.   Salvator  Rosa  :  The  Apparition  of  Samuel  to  Saul.     Col- 
lection of  Louis  XIV. 

318.    Guida  Reni  :  Ecce  Homo.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 

256.   Carlo  Maratta  :  Portrait  of  Maria  Maddalcna   Rospigli- 
osi.     A  very  favorable  specimen  of  the  master. 
24.    Caravaggio  :  The  Death  of  the  Virgin.     From  the  gallery 
of  the  Duke  of  Mantua  this  picture  passed  to  that  of 
Charles  L,  then  of  Louis  XIV. 

134.  Ann.  Caracci  :  Fishermen. 
*ii9.  Ann.  Caracci  :  "  La  Vierge  aux  Cerises." 

The  name  is  in  allusion  to  the  legend,  often  repeated  in  old 
carols,  that,  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour,  the  Virgin  longed 
for  cherries  which  hung  high  on  a  tree,  and  that  Avhen  Joseph  was 
about  to  get  them  for  her,  the  bough  bent  to  his  hand. 

dth  Division. — 

455.    Titian  :  Male    Portrait.     Collection   of  Mazarin,   after- 
wards of  Louis  XIV. 
451.    Titian  :  An  Allegory.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*46i.  Lionardo  da  Vinci  (sometimes  attributed  to  the  Milanese 
Bernardino    de'    Conti)  :    Female    Portrait,    called    in 
France  "La  Belle  Féronnière,"  mistress  of  François 
I.,  but  really  representing  Lucrezia  Crivelli,  a  lady 
beloved  by  Ludovico  Sforza. 
*440.    Titian:  "La   Vierge  au   Lapin."     Signed.     Collection 
of  Louis  XIV.     The  Virgin  holds  a  white  rabbit,  to- 
wards which  the  infant  Christ,  in  the  arms  of  St.  Cath- 
erine, eagerly  stretches  his  hand. 
92.  Patd  Vero7iese  :   The   Swoon    of   Esther.     Collection   of 
Louis  XIV. 
*372.  Raffaelle  :  Portrait  of  a  Young  Man,  said  to  be  the  ar- 
tist.    Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*56.   Era  Bartolo77inieo  :  li\iç,  KnnyxxvzxzXxon.    1515.    Collection 
of  François  I. 

"The  Virgin  seated  under  a  niche,  and  attended  by  standing 
or  kneeling  saints,  bends  backwards  as  she  sees  the  messenger 
who  flies  down  to  her.  It  is  clear  that  the  latter  was  thrown  off 
on  the  background  of  architecture  at  the  moment  when  the  rest 
was  finished.  Fra  Bartolommeo  has  reached  a  point  where  he 
defies  every  sort  of  difficulty." — Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle. 

"A   most  brilliant  and  original    composition,   in  which  the 


76 


WALICS  IN  PARIS 


Virgin,  instead  of  being  represented  kneeling  in  some  retired 
spot,  is  seated  on  a  throne  receiving  the  homage  of  various  saints, 
when  the  angel  Gabriel  appears  before  her." — Rio,  "  Christian 
Art:' 

*37i.  Raffaelle  :  Portrait  of  Balthasar  Castiglione,  the  famous 
author  of  "  II  Cortigiano."  Collection  of  Charles  I., 
afterwards  of  Mazarin  and  Louis  XIV. 

445.  Titian  :  Christ  crowned  with  Thorns.  From  St.  Maria 
delle  Grazie  at  Milan. 

441.    Titian  :  The  Holy  Family. 

*99.  Paul  Veronese  :  The  Supper  at  Emmaus. 
*46o.  Lionardo  da  Vinci:  "  La  Vierge  aux  Rochers."     Collec- 
tion of  François  I.     A  replica,  with  some  difTerences, 
of  the  famous  picture,  in  the  National  Gallery,  from 
the  collection  at  Charlton. 

291.  Giulio  Romano  :  The  Nativity.  From  St.  Andrea  at  Man- 
tua ;  afterwards  in  the  gallery  of  the  Duke  of  Mantua  ; 
then  of  Charles  I,  ;  finally  of  Louis  XIV. 

443.  Titian  :  The  Disciples  at  Emmaus.  A  subject  often 
painted  by  the  master.  Gallery  of  the  Duke  of  Man- 
tua, Charles  I.  and  Louis  XIV. 

"  Titian,  according  to  tradition,  has  placed  at  the  right  of  our 
Saviour  in  the  dress  of  a  pilgrim,  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  and  at 
his  left,  in  the  same  disguise,  Cardinal  Ximenes.  The  page  who 
brings  a  dish  to  the  table  is  Philip  II.,  afterwards  King  of  Spain." 
—  The'ophile  Gautier. 

57.  Fra  Bartolovwieo  :  Virgin  and  Child  throned,  with  Saints. 

225.  Lorenzo  Lotto  :  St.  Laurence,  with  St.  Agnes  and  St.  Mar- 
garet.    Collection  of  Napoleon  III. 

453.    Titian  :  Male  Portrait.     Collection  of  Louis  XIV. 
*449.    Titian:  Jupiter    and    Antiope,    known   as   "La  Venus 
del    Pardo,"    with    a   glorious    landscape.     Given    by 
Philip  IV.  of  Spain  to  Charles  I.,  afterwards  in  the 
collection  of  Mazarin,  then  of  Louis  XIV. 

382.  Andrea  del  Sarto  :  The  Annunciation.  A  replica  of  the 
picture  in  the  Pitti  at  Florence. 

*38.  Giorgione  :  The  Holy  Family,  with  Sts,  Sebastian  and 
Catherine,  in  a  poetic  landscape.  Collections  of 
Duke  of  Mantua,  Charles  I.,  Mazarin,  and  Louis 
XIV. 


irOA'A'S   OF  LE  su  RU R  77 

454,    Titian  :  A  Man  holding  a  Glove.     Collection  of  Louis 

XIV. 
177.   Gaudcnzio  Ferrari  (of  Valduggia),  1484-1550:    St.  Paul. 
Signed,  1543.     From  St.  Maria  delle  Grazie  at  Milan. 
*374.  Raffacllc  :  Two  Male   Portraits  :  supposed   to  represent 
Raffaelle  and  his  fencing-master  :  by  some  ascribed 
to  Pontormo  or  Sebastian  del  Piombo. 
74.  Bonifazio  :    Holy    Family   and    Saints.       Collection    of 
Mazarin,  afterwards  of  Louis  XIV. 

The  third  door  we  have  passed  on  the  right  of  La 
Grande  Galerie  is  the  entrance  to  five  rooms  devoted  to 
French  and  English  artists.     Here  we  may  notice — 

\st  Room. — Containing  interesting  examples  of  XIV. 
c.  art  in  France.  Two  pictures  by  François  Clouet  dit 
Janet  (1500-1572),  and  a  number  by  his  pupils. 

Ô53.  Jean  Foiicquet,  c.  1450  :  Charles  VII. 
*652.  Id.  :  Guillaume  Jouvenel,  Chancellor  of  Charles  VII. 
A  very  noble  work. 
137.  Jean  Cousin  :  The  Last  Judgment. 

2nd  Room. — A  noble  collection  of  pictures  of  Eustache 
Lesueur  (16 17-1655)  representing  the  life  of  St.  Bruno,  and 
executed  for  one  of  the  cloisters  of  a  Carthusian  monas- 
tery which  stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Luxem- 
bourg. 

"  Lesueur  was  twenty-eight  years  old,  when  he  was  commis- 
sioned to  paint  the  gallery  of  the  Chartreux.  In  less  than  three 
years  (1645-1648),  assisted  by  his  brothers  and  his  brother-in-law 
in  the  less  important  parts  of  the  work,  he  executed  the  twenty- 
two  pictures  of  the  life  of  St.  Bruno.  The  public  admiration  was 
not  expressed  by  any  noisy  burst  of  enthusiasm,  but  by  a  sort  of 
seizure  that  held  the  spectator.  This  serenity,  this  celestial  purity, 
this  color,  limpid  and  transparent  as  a  clear  summer  sky,  this  re- 
ligious sentiment,  with  its  penetrating  sweetness,  which  united 
the  fervor  of  ecstasy  with  the  calm  of  the  soul  reposing  in  the 
light,  were  like  a  new  revelation.  Lesueur,  after  Poussin,  was 
the  Gospel  after  antiquity  and  the  Old  Testament." — Martin, 
"  Hist,  de  France." 


78  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  pictures  are — 

1.  Raymond,  a  learned  doctor  at  Paris,  and  canon  of  Notre 

Dame,  is  lecturing  on  theology  to  his  pupils,  one  of 
whom,  sitting  in  front,  with  a  book  under  his  arm,  is 
St.  Bruno,  a  native  of  Cologne. 

2.  Raymond  dies.     A  priest  attended  by  two  students,  one 

of  whom  is  St.  Bruno,  extends  the  crucifix.  A  demon 
awaits  the  departing  soul. 

3.  As,  three  several  times,  the  people  were  attempting  to 

carry  Raymond  to  the  grave,  when  they  were  chanting 
the  words,  "  Responde  mihi  quantas  habes  iniquitates," 
the  dead  man  lifted  himself  up  and  with  terrible  voice 
exclaimed  :  "  By  the  justice  of  God  I  am  condemned." 
On  the  third  occasion  the  body  was  flung  aside,  as 
unworthy  of  Christian  burial.  St.  Bruno  witnesses  the 
awful  scene. 

4.  St.  Bruno  kneels  before  the  crucifix.     In  the  background 

Raymond  is  being  buried  in  unconsecrated  ground. 

5.  Bruno  teaches  theology  at  Rheims. 

6.  Bruno,  dreading  the  temptations  of  the  world,  persuades 

six  friends  to  adopt  the  life  of  anchorites. 

7.  St.  Bruno  and  his  companions  prepare  to  set  out  to  Gre- 

noble and  distribute  their  goods  to  the  poor. 

8.  Hugo,  Bishop  of  Grenoble,  has  a  vision  of  seven  mov- 

ing stars,  which  become  stationary  at  a  fixed  point  in 
his  diocese  ;  when  Bruno  and  his  companions  appear, 
he  sees  the  interpretation  of  his  vision  and  gives  them 
a  retreat  on  a  mountain  near  Grenoble. 

9.  Bruno  and  his  friends,  preceded  by  St.  Hugo  on  a  mule, 

journey  to  the  village  of  Chartreux. 
ID.  St.  Bruno  founds  the  monastery  of  the  Grande  Chartreuse. 

11.  St.  Hugo  invests  Bruno  with  the  habit  of  his  order. 

12.  The  rule  of  Bruno  is  confirmed  by  Pope  Victor  HI. 

13.  St.  Bruno,  as  abbot,  receives  )^oung  novices. 

14.  Pope    Urban    H.,  who   had    been    a   pupil  of   Bruno   at 

Rheims,  sends  for  St.  Bruno  to  aid  him  in  his  affairs  : 
the  summons  causes  consternation. 

15.  Bruno  received  by  Urban  H. 

16.  Bruno  refuses  the  Archbishopric  of  Reggio. 

17.  Bruno,  unable  longer  to  endure  Court  life,  retires  to  a 

desert  in  Calabria. 


GALERIE   MO  LUE  IV  yg 

i8.  Bruno  lias  obtained  leave  to  found  a  convent  in  Calabria  ; 
he  prays  and  the  monks  clear  the  ground. 

19.  Count  Roger  of  Sicily,  lost  in  the  forest,  finds  the  her- 

mitage of  St.  Bruno. 

20.  Whilst  besieging  Capua,  Count  Roger  has  a  vision  of  St. 

Bruno,  who  warns  him  of  treachery  in  his  camp,  so  that 
he  is  able  to  guard  against  it. 

21.  The  death  of  St.  Bruno  (iioo),  surrounded  by  his  monks. 

22.  The  apotheosis  of  St.  Bruno — the  worst,  as  the  last  was 

the  best,  of  the  series. 

T^rd  Room. — Pictures  by  Eustache  Lesueur^  chiefly  from 
the  Hôtel  Lambert,  in  the  Isle  St.  Louis. 

"The  decoration  of  the  Hôtel  Lambert,  divided  between  the 
rivals,  Lesueur  and  Lebrun,  was  again  a  triumph  for  Lesueur. 
He  gave  a  quite  novel  character  to  the  mythological  allegory  al- 
ready treated  by  Poussin  with  great  depth,  but  in  another  style. 
It  was,  as  M.  Vitet  has  well  said,  antiquit}'  as  Fénelon  conceived 
it.  Christian  and  still  martial.  It  was  not  the  antiquity  of  Homer, 
but  that  of  Plato  and  of  Virgil.  These  ravishing  nymphs  of 
Lesueur  are  ideas  descending  from  the  empyrean  of  Plato,  so 
closely  akin  to  the  heaven  of  St.  John." — Henri  Martin. 

4M  Room. — Pictures  by  Horace  Vernet  (17 14-1789). 

t^th  Room. — Pictures  by  English  artists — none  remark- 
able. 

From  this  room  one  may  turn  (right  at  the  head  of  a 
staircase  to  the  Galerie  Mollien^  containing  a  vast  collec- 
tion of  the  works  of  N.  Poussin  and  Claude. 

Right  Wall— 

804.  Lenaiti  :  Portrait  of  Henri  IL,  Duc  de  Montmorenci. 

828.  N.  Poussin  :  Apollo  and  Daphne.    The  last  work  of  the 
artist  ;  left  unfinished. 

515.  Lesueur:  Tobias  instructed  by  his  Father.     Very  beau- 
tiful in  color. 
65.  Lebrun  :  Martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen. 

"  In  a  certain  sense  it  is  a  specimen  of  what  may  be  called 
the  academic  school  ;  great  talent  in  composition,  a  noble  style, 
a  skilful  execution,  but  a  theatrical  manner,  declamator}'  and  su- 


8o  WALKS  IN-  PARIS 

perficial,  to  which  the  serenity  of  true  art  is  wanting,  and  where 
we  feel  that  soul  is  absent." — Henri  Martin. 

This  picture  was  a  votive  offering  executed  by  Lebrun  at  the 
age  of  thirty-two,  for  the  Confrérie  des  Orfèvres,  who  presented 
it,  on  May  i,  1651,  to  the  chapter  of  Notre  Dame. 

421.   N.  Poussin:  The  Philistines  smitten  with  the  Plague. 
521.  Le  sueur  :  St.  Paul  preaching  at  Ephesus. 

"After  the  Dispute  du  Saint  Sac7'e?Hent  and  the  School  of 
Athens,  nothing  had  appeared  that  could  be  compared  to  the 
Sai?it  Paul,  a  creation  which  is  perhaps  the  masterpiece  of  the 
French  school,  A  dominant  ideal  breathes  in  all  this  composi- 
tion, a  divine  breath  stirs  the  apostle's  hair,  the  spirit  of  God 
shines  in  his  look." — Hetiri  Martin. 


■     /■    Claude  Lorraine  :  Landscapes. 
222.     ) 

453.  N.  Poussin  :  Diogenes.     The  landscape  is  magnificent. 

195.    Claude  Lefevre  :  A  Master  and  his  Pupil. 

290.  Laurent  de  Lahyre  (1606-1656)  :  Pope  Nicholas  V.  wit- 
nessing the  opening  of  the  grave  of  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi.  The  Pope  (1449)  descends  into  the  tomb  at 
Assisi,  which  has  never  been  opened  since  the  death 
of  the  saint.  He  finds  the  body  entire  and  standing 
upright  ;  kneeling,  he  lifts  the  robe  to  examine  the 
traces  of  the  stigmata  ;  attendants  and  monks  with 
torches  stand  around. 

224.    Claude  Lorraine  :  David  crowned  by  Samuel. 
*3o6.  Jouvenet  :   Fagon,    physician    of   Louis    XIV.     A    most 
powerful  and  speaking  portrait. 

226.    Claude  Lorraine  :  A  Seaport. 

479.  Rigaud:  Portrait  of  Martin  van  den  Bogaert,  known  as 
Desjardins,  the  sculptor. 

415.  N.  Poussin  :  Eleazar  and  Rebecca. 

232.  Clatide  Lorraine:  Entering  a  Port  (Genoa?)  at  Sunrise. 

Left  WalL^ 

473,  Rigaud:  Presentation  in  the  Temple.  The  last  work  of 
the  master  (1743),  bequeathed  by  him  to  Louis  XV. 

233.  Claude  Lorraine  :  The  Landing  of  Cleopatra. 
48.    Sebastian  Bourdon:  Portrait  of  the  Artist. 

386.   Oudry  :  Blanche,  a  favorite  dog  of  Louis  XV. 


MODERN  FRENCH   SCHOOL  gi 

446.  N.  Poîissin:  Time  saving  Truth  from  the  attacks  of 
Envy  and  Discord.  Executed  in  1641  for  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  afterwards  in  the  "grand  cabinet  du  roi" 
at  the  Louvre. 

225.  Claude  Lof'7'ai ne  :  Ulysses  restoring  Chryseis  to  her  Fa- 
ther. 

392.  Mignard:  Madonna  and  Child,  with  a  cluster  of  grapes. 

475.  Rigaud:  Louis  XIV.  An  interesting  portrait  (1701)  of 
the  great  king,  "silencieux  et  mesuré,"  as  St.  Simon 
describes  him,  whose  minutest  actions  endured  the 
•  scrutiny  of  his  courtiers,  from  whose  presence  he  was 
never  relieved,  a  prince  of  the  blood  handing  him  his 
shirt,  a  duke  holding  a  mirror  whilst  he  shaved,  &c. 

480.  Rigaud  :  Portrait  of  Charles  Lebrun  and  Pierre  Mignard. 

351.  Mignard  :  Ecce  Homo. 

At  the  end  of  this  gallery  we  enter  Le  Pa^nllon  Denon^ 
containing  pictures  of  the  Battles  of  Alexander  by  Charles 
Lebrun. 

On  the  right  opens  a  gallery  in  which  a  collection  of 
the  Modern  French  School  has  been  recently  arranged.  We 
may  notice — 

Right  Wall,— 

Guérin  :  Death  of  Caesar. 
Constant  Troyon:  Oxen  going  to  Work. 
Ary  Scheffer:  St.  Augustin  and  St.  Monica. 
Ingres:  The  Apotheosis  of  Homer. 
Prudhon  :  The  Empress  Josephine. 
Delaroche  :  The  English  Princes  in  the  Tower. 

End  Wall— 

Delaroche:  The  Death  of  Elizabeth  of  England. 

Left  Wall.— 

Scheffer:  The  Temptation. 
100.  David:  The  Vow  of  the  Horatii. 
Gros:  Bonaparte  at  Areola. 
Benonville :  The  Death  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi. 
Troyon:  Le  Retour  de  la  Ferme. 


82  VVALICS  IN  PARIS 

Returning  to  the  Pavilion  Denon,  we  enter  the  Galerie 
Daru. 

Right  Wall.— 

284-288.   Oudry:  Favorite    Dogs   of    Louis   XV.,   with  their 

names. 
311.  Lancret:  Summer. 
587.  Jean  François  de  Troy  :  First  Chapter  of  the  Order  of  St. 

Esprit,  held  by  Henri  IV.  in  the  Convent  of  the  Grands 

Augustins  at  Paris,  January  8,  1595.  • 

*265.   Gretize :  The  Broken  Pitcher. 
330.    Vanloo:  Portrait  of  Queen  Marie  Leczinska,  1747. 

52.  Mme  Lebrun:  Portrait  of  the  Artist  and  her  Daughter. 
332.    Vanloo:  Portrait  of  the  artist  Jean  Germain  Drouais. 
261,  262.   Gj-euze:  The  Father's  turse,  and  the  Return  of  the 

Prodigal  Son.     Collection  of  Louis  XVIH. 

Left  Wall,— 

264.   Greuze  :  Portrait  of  an  Artist. 
678.  Angelica  Kauffman  :  A  Lady  and  Child. 
28,  29.  Boucher:  Pastoral  Subjects.     Good  specimens  of  the 

artist. 
187.  F.  N.  Drotiais,   1763  :  Portrait  of  the  Comte  d'Artois, 

afterwards  Charles  X.,  at  six,  and  his  sister,  Clotilde, 

at  four. 
577.  Louis  Tocqué:  Portrait  of  Queen  Marie  Leczinska. 
*99.   Chardin  :  The  Benedicite.     Collection  of  Louis  XV. 
724.    Chardin:  "  La  Pourvoyeuse." 

98.    Chardin:  The  Industrious  Mother. 
403.  Pater,  1728  :  A  Pastoral  Feast. 
*26o.   G7'euze:  The  Village  Bride,    "L'Accordée  du  Village." 

The  father  has  just  paid  the  dowry  of  his  daughter, 

and  is  commending  her  to  the  care  of  her  bridegroom  ; 

the   mother    exhibits    satisfaction    at    the    match  ;    the 

younger  sister,  grief  at  the  parting. 
168.  Desportes:  Folle  and  Mitte,  dogs  of  Louis  XIV. 
162.   Desportes:  Portrait  of  the  Artist. 
367.    Oudry:  Wolf  Hunt. 

On  leaving  the  last  hall  of  the  French  School  we  find 
ourselves  at  the  top  of  the  Escalier  Daru.      Crossing  the 


MUSÉE    CAM  PANA,    MUSÉE    CHARLES  X.         83 

landing  half-way  up  the  staircase,  entering  the  Vestibule, 
and  leaving  the  Galerie  d'Apollon  to  the  right,  we  reach 
again  the  Salle  des  Sept  Cheminées.  If  we  cross  this,  by 
the  furthest  door  on  the  opposite  wall  we  may  enter  the 
Miisce  Campana,  containing  the — 

Salle  Asiatique. — (The  ceiling  has  "  Poussin  presented  to 
Louis  XII.  b)'^  Richelieu,"  by  Alaiix.)  Phoenician  terra-cottas, 
Babylonian  alabasters,  &c. 

Salle  des  Terres-cuites. — (Ceiling,  "Henri  IV.  after  the  Battle 
of  Ivry,"  by  Steuben.)    Terra-cottas,  chiefly  from  Magna  Graecia. 

Salle  des  Vases  Noirs. — (Ceiling,  "  Puget  presenting  to  Louis 
XIV.  his  Group  of  Milo  of  Crotona,"  by  Deveria.)  Very  ancient 
Etruscan  vases.  • 

Salle  du  Tombeau  Lydien. — (Ceiling,  "  Francis  I.  receiving 
the  Statues  brought  from  Italy  by  Primaticcio,"  by  Frago?iard.) 
In  the  centre  of  the  room  is  the  great  terra-cotta  tomb  of  a  hus- 
band and  wife,  from  Cervetri,  which  was  the  masterpiece  of  the 
Campana  collection. 

Salle  des  Vases  Corinthiens. — (Ceiling,  "  The  Renaissance  of 
the  Arts  in  France,"  and  eight  scenes  of  French  history  from 
Charles  VIII.  to  the  death  of  Henri  II.)  All  the  vases  in  this 
hall  are  anterior  to  Pericles. 

Salle  des  Vases  à  Figurines  N'oires. — (Ceiling,  "Francis  I. 
armed  by  Bayard,"  b}'  Eragonard.)  Vases  before  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great. 

Salle  des  Vases  à  Figurines  Eouges. — (Ceiling,  "  Charlemagne 
and  Alcuin,"  by  Schnetz.) 

Salle  des  Rhytons. — (Ceiling,  "Louis  XII.  at  the  States-Gen- 
eral of  Tours  in  1506,"  by  Drolling.)  Many  of  the  rhytons  are 
unique. 

Salle  des  Eresqzies. — (Ceiling,  "  Egj'-ptian  Campaign  under 
Bonaparte,"  by  Cogniet.)  Frescoes  and  relics  from  Pompeii. 
Three  frescoes  of  first-rate  excellence  were  given  by  Francis  I.  of 
Naples. 

Returning  to  the  Salle  des  Vases  Corinthiens,  the  vis- 
itor may  enter,  on  the  left,  the  Musée  Charles  A'.,  or  des 
Antiquités  Grecques.,  and,  beginning  with  the  furthest  room, 
visit — 


84  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Salle  d'Homère  :  Greek  Pottery  and  Glass.  Objects  in  wood 
and  plaster  from  the  tombs  of  Kertch. 

Salle  des  Vases  Feints,  à  figures  rotiges. 

Salle  Grecque. 

Salle  des  Vases  Peints,  à  figures  noires. 

The  five  succeeding  halls  and  staircase  of  the  Musée 
Egyptien  contain  a  very  precious  and  important  collection. 
Their  names  express  their  contents — 

Hall  of  the  Gods  and  other  monuments. 

Hall  of  the  Gods. 

Hall  of  funereal  monuments. 

Hall  of  monuments  relating  to  civil  life. 

Hall  of  historical  monuments. 

(Staircase)  Larger  sculptures.     Statue  of  Rameses  H. 

Turning  left,  we  find  Les  Anciennes  Salles  du  Musée  des 
Souverai?ts,  which  are  full  of  interest.  Their  collections 
are  chiefly  due  to  the  energy  and  historic  judgment  of  the 
Empress  Eugénie. 

Salle  I.  is  panelled  from  the  apartments  which  Louis  XHL 
prepared  for  Anne  of  Austria  in  the  château  of  Vincennes.  The 
stained  glass  is  of  XVL  and  XVH.  c. 

Salle  II.,  "  La  Chambre  à  Alcôve,"  is  panelled  from  the  apart- 
ment of  Henri  H.  in  the  Louvre,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the 
Salon  carré  de  l'Ecole  Française.  The  four  enfants  in  the  alcove, 
sustaining  a  canopy,  are  by  Gilles  Guérin.  This  alcove  is  especi- 
ally interesting,  as  the  body  of  Henri  IV.  was  laid  there,  after  his 
murder  by  Ravaillac. 

"We  see  not  only  the  emblems  '  Crescents  and  Fleurs-de-lys,' 
the  devices  and  cyphers  that  recall  the  loves  of  Henri  H.  and 
Diane  de  Poitiers,  but  even  a  part  of  the  details  which  Sauvai 
admired  when  he  described  it  ;  the  ceiling  of  walnut,  sculptured 
and  relieved  by  ormolu,  from  the  centre  of  which  stand  out  'the 
arms  of  France,  in  a  heap  of  casques,  swords,  lances,  &c,,'  and  on 
the  doors,  'the  designs  and  delicacy  of  the  half-reliefs,' as  well 
as  two  marvellous  serpents  'with  delicate,  close-fitting  scales.'" 
— Paris  à  travers  les  âges. 

Salle  III.,   ''La   Chambre  de  Parade.'' — The  faded  tapestries 


MUSÉE  DES  DESSINS,    DES  BRONZES  85 

belonged  to  Mazarin.  The  wood  panelling  is  from  the  chamber 
of  Henri  II. 

"  Musicians  and  the  curious  found  it  so  perfect  that  they  not 
onl}'  called  it  the  most  beautiful  room  in  the  world,  but  asserted 
that,  in  this  style,  it  is  the  summit  of  all  the  perfections  of  which 
imagination  can  form  an  idea." — Sauvai. 

The  silver  statue  of  Peace  in  the  centre  of  the  room  is  by 
Claudet,  1806.     Over  the  chimney  is  a  portrait  of  Henri  II. 

Salle  IV. — In  the  middle  is  a  silver  statue  of  Henry  IV.  as  a 
boy,  by  F.  Bosio  (taken  from  a  picture).  In  a  case  on  the  right 
is  the  curious  copper  basin,  called  Baptistère  de  St.  Louis,  in  which 
all  the  children  of  Kings  of  France  were  baptized.  A  collection 
of  small  objects  in  the  same  case  belonged  to  Marie  Antoinette. 

In  the  Pavilion  Cent?'a I  (covered  with  bees)  which  Napoleon  I. 
intended  to  use  as  a  throne-room,  and  which  bears  his  name  on 
the  ceiling,  are  a  number  of  works  of  art — the  best,  Italian. 
Opening  from  this  room  is  a  hall  containing  various  works  of 
art,  gifts  to  the  Louvre. 

By  the  landing  of  the  Assyrian  staircase  we  reach  the 
Collections  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  Renaissance, 

Hall  of  the  Terra-cottas  and  Delia  Robbia  ware. 
Hall  of  the  faience  of  Italy  and  Nevers. 
Hall  of  the  Hispano-moorish  and  Italian  faience. 
Hall  of  French  faience.     A  case  of  exquisite  XVI.  c. 
Hall  of  the  small  bronzes.     Many  most  beautiful. 
Hall  of  glass  ware. 

Hall  Sauvageot.     Mediaeval  art.     (Called  after  a  former  con- 
servator.) 
Hall  of  the  ivories. 

The  Musée  des  Dessins  occupies  fourteen  rooms.  The 
drawings  of  the  French  School  are  especially  interesting. 
The  foreign  collection  includes  exquisite  sketches  by  Fra 
Bartolommeo,  Raffaelle,  Michelangelo,  Perugino,  Titian, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Albert  Durer,  &c. 

Passing  the  head  of  a  staircase,  a  wrought-iron  gate 
from  Maisons  leads  to  the  Salle  des  Bronzes^  containing 
a  precious  collection,  including — 


86  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Beautiful  Head  of  a  Young  Man,  from  Beneventum. 
Apollo  in  gilt  bronze,  found  at  Lillebonne,  1823. 
Apollo  from   Piombino,  with  an  inscription  in  silver  let  into 
the  left  heel. 

We  now  find  ourselves  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  by 
which  we  entered,  or,  if  we  care  to  ascend  the  staircase  we 
have  just  passed,  we  may  visit  the  Musk  de  Marine,  the 
Salle  Ethnographique,  and  the  Musk  Chinois,  which  are 
not  of  general  interest  to  an  English  traveller. 


The  Sculpture  Galleries  on  the  ground  floor  of  the 
Louvre  are  entered  by  the  Pavilion  Defton,  on  the  right  of 
the  Place  du  Carrousel.  Following  the  gallery  on  the  left, 
adorned  with  fragments  or  copies  of  antique  sculpture, 
ascending  several  steps,  and  leaving  the  new  staircase  to 
the  right,  we  descend  to  the — 

Vestibule  Daru,  where  we  should  notice — 

Eight  bas-reliefs  from  the  Palace  at  Thessalonica. 

Sarcophagus  from  Salonica,  with  Battle  of  the  Amazons. 

Salle  de  la  Rotonde. — The  ceiling  is  colored  with   figures  in 
stucco  by  Michel  Auguier.     We  must  notice — 
ht  Centre.     The  Mars  Borghese. 
r.  75.   Lycian  Apollo, 

(Turning  right.)     Salle  de  Méchie — 

Almost  all  the  statues  here  and  in  most  of  the  other  rooms 
are  so  much  "  restored  "  that  they  have  little  interest  ;  the  heads, 
though  antique,  seldom  belong  to  the  statues. 

The  Salles  des  Saisons  were  decorated  by  Romanelli  with  the 
allegories  of  the  Seasons,  alternating  with  the  story  of  Apollo 
and  Diana.  Under  Louis  XV.  this  was  the  hall  of  audience  of 
the  Minister  of  War  and  of  the  President  of  the  Great  Council. 

The  great  Mithraic  relief  (569)  here  is  very  important,  as  the 
first  known  to  antiquaries,  and  as  bearing  inscriptions  which 
have  given  rise  to  great  discussion.  It  comes  from  the  cave  of 
Mithras  on  the  Capitoline  Hill. 


GALERIES  DE   SCULPTURE  gy 

Salle  de  la  Paix  (or  Salle  de  Rome) — named  from  paintings  by 
Romanelli,  framed-  in  bas-reliefs  by  Auguier — which  formed  the 
first  of  the  apartments  of  Anne  of  Austria,  and  which  looks  upon 
the  little  garden  ctAXq^  Jardin  de  V Infante  (from  the  Spanish  In- 
fanta, who  came  in  1721  as  an  intended  bride  for  Louis  XV.)  :  a 
garden  laid  out  by  Nicholas  Guérin,  and  admired  by  Evelyn. 

In  the  Centre  (465).    Rome — a  porphyry  statue — seated  on  a 
rock,  from  the  collection  of  Cardinal  Mazarin. 

Salle  de  Septime- Severe, 
r.  315.  Antinous.     A  most  beautiful  bust. 
/.  Six  busts  of  Septimius  Severus. 
/.  Statue  of  Julian  the  Apostate. 

Salle  de  Antonins. — 
/.  12.  Colossal  head  of  Lucilla.     Found  at  Carthage,  1847. 
/.   Fine   busts   of   Lucius   Verus    and    Marcus   Aurelius. 

From  the  villa  of  Lucius  Verus,   at  Acqua  Traversa, 

near  Rome. 

Salle  d' Auguste. — 

Centj-e.  Colossal    bust    of   Antinous,    represented    as    an 

Egyptian  god  with  the  lotus  in  his  hair.     From  the 

Villa  Mondragone,  at  Frascati. 
*i84.  Roman  Orator,  as  Mercury.     Signed  by  the  Athenian 

sculptor  Cleomenes  ;  from  the  Villa  Borghese. 
468.  Colossal  bust    of   Rome,  with    two  wolves    suckling 

Romulus   and    Remus   on    the   helmet.      From    Villa 

Borghese. 
Efid  IVall.  A  beautiful  statue  of  Augustus,   once  in  the 

Vatican.     Amongst  the  busts,  those  of  Octavia,  sister 

of  Augustus,  and  Vitellius,  are  the  best. 

Returning  to  the  Salle  de  la  Rotonde,  we  find,  on  the 
right,  the — 

Salle  de  Phidias. — 

Centre.  Headless  statue  of  Juno  (Here)  from  her  temple  at 

Samos. 
r.  9,  10,  II,   Reliefs  from  Thasos.     Above  125  fragments 
of  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon.      126  :   Metope  from  the 
Parthenon. 
/.   Relief  of  the  Story  of  Orpheus  and  Eurydice. 
Reliefs  from  the  Temple  of  Assos  in  the  Troad. 


88  WALK'S  IN  PARIS 

Side  near  Court,  \st  Recess.      Relief  from  the  tomb  of  Philis, 
daughter  of  Clemedes  of  Thasos. 

Salle  du  Tibre. — 

*449.  The  Tiber — found  at  Rome  in  the  XIV.  c. — with  the 
wolf  suckling  Romulus  and  Remus,  discovered  with 
the  Nile  of  the  Vatican  in  the  XVI.  c. 
250.  Silenus  and  Bacchus.     From  the  Villa  Borghese. 
98.  Diana  of  Versailles,  or  Diane  à  la  Biche. 

Salle  du  Gladiateur. — 

Centre.  97.   Diana  (?).     From  Gabii. 

276.   Bust  of  Satyr.     Found  at  Vienne. 
(Second  Window.)  *  "The  Borghese  Gladiator" — from  the 
Villa  Borghese — really  the  statue  of  an  armed  runner 
in   the    hoplitodromos.       The    inscription    bears    the 
name  of  the  sculptor — Agesias  of  Ephesos.     Found 
at  Antium  in  the  XVII.  c. 
135.  Venus  Genitrix.     The  Venus  d'Arles,  which  was  re- 
stored by  Girardon,  and  placed  by  Louis  XIV.  in 
the  Grande  Galerie  of  Versailles. 

Salle  de  Pallas.— 

70.  Apollo  Sauroctonos. 
137.  Venus.     Found  at  Aries  in  1651. 
493.   "  Le  Génie  du  Repos  Eternel." 
*ii4.  In  the  centre,  the  famous  Pallas  of  Velletri,  the  best 
statue  of  Minerva  known  ;  found  in  1797.     This  is 
a  Roman  copy  of  a  Greek  work  of  the  best  period. 

Salle  de  Melpomene. — 
386.  Colossal  statue  of  the  Tragic  Muse.     Ceded  to  France 
by  the  treaty  of  Tolentino. 

{Left.)  Salle  de  la  Vénus  de  Milo.— 
*I36.  The  Venus  of  Milo,  found  February,  1820,  near  the 
mountain-village  of  Castro,  in  the  island  of  Melos, 
by  a  peasant  named  Jorgos  and  his  son,  Antonio 
Bottonis.  They  offered  it  for  sale  for  25,000  francs 
to  the  French  consul,  Louis  Brest,  but  he  hesitated 
to  disburse  so  large  a  sum  for  his  Government,  and 
it  was  the  account  which  Dumont  d'Urville,  a  young 
lieutenant  on  board  the  man-of-war  "  La  Chevrette," 
took  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Rivière,  ambassador  at 


SALLE   DES   CARLA  TIDES  89 

Constantinople,  of  the  marvellous  statue  he  had 
seen  upon  his  voyage,  which  secured  the  Melian 
Venus  for  Paris.  The  statue  was  at  first  believed 
to  be  the  work  of  Praxiteles,  till,  on  the  pedestal, 
the  Messieurs  Debay  found,  in  Greek  characters, 
the  inscription — "  Andros,  Menides'  son,  from 
Antioch,  on  the  Meander,  made  the  work,"  But 
the  pedestal  underwent  a  change  in  the  workshop 
of  the  Louvre  :  the  inscription  is  no  longer  there, 
its  ever  having  existed  is  denied  by  many,  and  the 
author  of  the  statue  is  still  uncertain.  It  is,  how- 
ever, universally  allowed  that  when  the  statue  was 
first  found,  its  left  arm  was  in  existence,  out- 
stretched, and  holding  an  apple — perhaps  a  symbol 
of  the  island  of  Melos. 

"  In  every  stroke  of  the  chisel,  art  judges  will  discover  evi- 
dence of  the  fine  perception  the  Hellenic  master  had  for  every 
expression,  even  the  slightest,  of  a  nobly-developed  woman's 
form.  In  the  whole,  and  in  every  part,  one  finds  the  full-blown 
flower  of  womanly  beauty.  In  every  contour  there  is  a  moderation 
that  includes  luxuriance  and  excludes  weakness.  To  the  flesh 
the  words  of  Homer  have  been  applied,  *  It  blooms  with  eternal 
youth,'  and  anything  comparable  to  it  will  not  have  been  seen, 
be  it  in  the  sculptured  works  of  the  old  or  the  new.  Even  the 
manner  in  which  the  outer  skin,  the  'epidermis,'  is  reproduced 
in  the  marble,  is  praised  as  unsurpassable.  After  rubbing  with 
pumice  stone,  it  was  customary  with  the  Hellenic  sculptors  of  the 
good  period  to  let  the  chisel  skim  lightly  over  the  surface  of  the 
marble,  when  they  wished  to  produce  the  effect  of  a  skin  warm 
with  life,  and  soft  as  velvet.  On  far  too  many  antique  works, 
however,  this  outer  skin  has  been  destroyed  by  polishing.  Here 
nothing  of  the  kind  has  taken  place  ;  the  naked  parts  shine  like 
an  elastic  cellular  tissue,  in  the  warm  tint  of  the  Parian  marble." — 
I  Iktor  Rydberg. 

Salle  de  la  Psyché. — 
/.  371.  Greek  statue  of  Pysche.      From  the  Villa  Borghese. 
r.  265.   Dancing  Faun.       From  the  collection  of   Cardinal 
Mazarin. 

Salle  d^ Adonis. — 
/.  172.  Sarcophagus  representing  the  Departure,  Accident, 
and  Death  of  Adonis. 


90  WALKS  I  AT  PARIS 

Salle  d'Herctde  et  Télephc— 

I.  325.  Eros  Farnèse.     Found  in  the  Farnese  garden,  1862. 
r.  461.  Hermaphrodite.     From  Velletri. 

Salle  de  Me'dée. — 

/.  282.  Splendid  sarcophagus  representing  the  Vengeance 
of  Medea. 

Centre.  Venus — a  stooping  figure.     Found  at  Vienne. 
Conidor  de  Pan,  whence,  on  the  left,  we  enter  the — 
Salle  des   Cariatides — formerl)»^  the  Salle  des  Gardes,  or  des 
Cent  Suisses  (of  the  hundred  Swiss  guards) — which  preceded  the 
apartments  of  Catherine  de  Medicis.     The  beautiful  caryatides, 
which  sustained  the  tribune,  are  masterpieces  of  Jean  Goujon. 

"The  art  of  the  Renaissance  has  produced  nothing  more 
beautiful  than  the  four  figures  of  women  by  Jean  Goujon,  placed 
as  supports  to  the  tribune.  Always  graceful  and  delicate,  Jean 
Goujon  has  here  surpassed  himself.  None  of  his  works  seem  to 
us  to  reach  the  same  degree  of  distinction  and  majestic  serenity, 
or  the  same  purity  of  form  and  sentiment.  Some  columns  are 
grouped  on  the  walls  and  disposed  in  a  portico  towards  the 
chimney.  The  bandeaux  which  cross  the  vault  are  covered  with 
sculpture,  a  '  Huntress  Diana,'  a  '  Venus  Anadyomene,'  attributes 
of  the  chase,  dogs,  garlands  of  towers  and  fruits." — De  Guilhermy. 

Here,  in  March  1583,  the  hundred  and  twenty  pages  of  Henri 
HI.  were  soundly  whipped  for  having  laughed  at  the  king  as  he  was 
walking  in  Ùïq  procès sio7i  des  flagella7its.  Here  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  Henri  IV.  with  Marguerite  des  Valois  ;  and  here  the 
wax  effigy  of  the  king  lay  in  a  chapelle  ardente  after  his  murder, 
May  14,  1610.  It  was  also  here  that  the  Huguenot  sister  of  Henri 
IV.  would  edify  the  Court  by  her  preachings,  and  then  comfort 
their  hearts  by  dancing  in  a  ballet.  And  in  this  room  Molière 
played  his  first  pieces,  and  the  Institute  used  to  hold  its  meetings. 

Centre,  217.  Bacchus.     From  the  château  of  Richelieu. 

31.  Jupiter  "  de  Versailles."     Given  by  Marguerite 
d'Autriche   to   Cardinal    de    Granville,    and 
brought  from    Besançon  to  Versailles  after 
being  presented  to  Louis  XIV. 
*235.  Vase  Borghese.     From  the  Gardens  of  Sallust. 
217.  Bacchus  (de  Richelieu). 
Minerva.     From  Crete. 


MOYEN  AGE  ET  RENAISSANCE  91 

*476.   Victory,  found  in  Samothrace,  1863 — a  draped 
figure  in  rapid  motion. 
r.   Bust  of  Sophocles. 

"The  face  is  that  of  an  elderly  and  very  thoughtful  man,  with 
noble  features,  and  of  great  beauty,  but  not  without  an  expression 
of  patience  and  of  sorrow  such  as  became  him  who  has  been  well 
called  der  Prophet  des  Weltschmerzes'^ — Mahaffy. 

I.  In  a  window.  Dog,  from  Gabii  ;  very  beautiful. 
/.  In  a  window,  374.  The  Borghese  Hermaphrodite. 

The  Musée  de  Sculpture  du  Moyen  Age  et  de  la  Re- 
naissance is  entered  from  the  south  façade  of  the  court  of 
the  Louvre,  on  the  east  side  of  the  south  gate.  It  is  full 
of  interest  to  any  one  who  has  travelled  much  in  France. 
The  tombs  and  sculptures  removed  from  still  existing 
churches  in  Paris  would  be  of  much  greater  interest  in  the 
places  for  which  they  were  intended,  but,  in  the  city  of 
constant  revolutions,  they  are  safer  here. 

Corridor  d'entrée. — 
70.  Painted  statue  of  Childebert  (XIII.  c.)  which  stood  at 

the  entrance  of  the  refectory  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Germain 

des  Prés. 
72.  Four  angels  (XIII.  c),  from  the  abbey  of  Poissy. 

76.  Statue  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  (XIV.  c),  from  the  church 

of  Maisoncelles,  near  Provins. 

77.  Pierre  de  Fayet,  canon  of  Paris.     1303. 

80.  Tomb  of   Pierre   d'Evreux-Navarre,  Comte  de  Mortain 

(XVI.  c). 

"A  true  and  simple  statue:  head  and  hands  striking  and 
natural  :  military  coat  thrown  back." — Liibke. 

81.  Catherine  d'Alençon,  wife  of  Pierre  d'Evreux  (XV.  c.) 

"  Even  finer  than  the  statue  of  her  husband,  with  simple  and 
beautiful  drapery.  Both  these  figures  are  from  the  Chartreuse  in 
Paris." — Lubke. 

82.  Anne  de   Bourgogne,   Duchess  of   Bedford,  1450.      By 

Guillaufne  Viniten. 

The  Corridor  leads  to  the  Salle  de  Jean  Goujon. — 


92  IV A  LA'S  IN  PARIS 

Centre.  loo.  Diana.  From  the  Château  d'Anet.  By  Jean 
Goujon. 
*ii2.  Funeral  Monument,  by  Germain  Pilon,  ordered 
(1559)  by  Catherine  de  Medicis,  which  con- 
tained the  heart  of  Henri  II.  in  the  church 
of  the  Celestines.  It  is  supported  by  the 
Graces  (supposed  by  the  Celestines  to  be  the 
Theological  Virtues)  on  a  triangular  pedestal 
by  the  Florentine  Domenico  del  Barbiere. 
This  would  more  appropriately  find  a  place 
at  St.  Denis. 
118-121.  The  Four  Cardinal  Virtues  by  Germain  Pilon. 
Wooden  figures  which,  till  the  Revolution, 
supported  the  shrine  of  St.  Geneviève  in  St. 
Etienne  du  Mont. 

Beginning  from  the  right  wall  we  see — 

97-99.   Fragments  of  the  original  Fontaine  des  Innocents,  by 
Jean  Goujon. 
152.  Medallion  portrait   of   the   poet   Philippe    Desportes, 

from  his  tomb  at  Bonport,  in  Normandy. 
136.   Henri  HI.,  by  Genyiain  Pilon. 

117.  Tomb  of   René    Birague,  Chancellor   of   France,  and 
Cardinal  Bishop  of  Lodève,  an  active  agent  in  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  by  Germain  Pilon. 
130.   Charles  IV.,  by  Germain  Pilon. 
103.   Philippe  de  Chabot,  Admiral  of  France.     Attributed 

io  Jean  Cousin. 
129.   Henri  II.,  by  Germain  Pilon. 
107.  Part  of  the  tomb  of  François  de  la  Rochefoucault  and 

his  wife,  Anne  de  Polignac,  1517,  hy  Jean  Cousin. 
*90.  The  Judgment  of   Daniel  upon  Susanna,  a  relief  by 
Daniel  Rihier  of  Lorraine.     A  haut-relief. 
91.  Angels,  hy  Daniel  Rihier. 

146.   Figures  from  a  tomb  in  St.  André  des  Arts,  by  Barthe'- 
lemy  Prieur. 
*I44.  Tomb  of   Madeleine  de  Savoie,   Duchesse   de   Mont- 
morency, wife  of  the   Constable   Anne.      From   St. 
Martin  of  Montmorency.     Barthélémy  Prieur. 
*I35i   135-   Nymphs.    Jean  Goujon. 

85,  86.  Tomb  of  the  historian  Philippe  de  Commynes,  Prince 
de  Talmont,  1511,  and  his  wife,  Hélène  de  Chambres, 


MOYEN  AGE  ET  RENAISSANCE  93 

1531.      From   the   chapel   which   they   built    in    the 
Grands  Augustins. 
123-127.   Part  of  the  pulpit  of  the  Grands  Augustins,  by  Germain 
Filon. 
143.   Part   of   the   Tomb  of   the    Constable  Anne,   Due  de 
Montmorency.        Barthélemey     Prieur.       From    St. 
Martin,   Montmorency. 
113.  Tomb  of  Valentine  Balbiani,  wife  of  Rene  Birague,  by 
Germain  Pilon.      From    St.    Catherine  de  la  Coul- 
ture. 
92-96.  The  Deposition  from  the  Cross  and  the  Four  Evan- 
gelists.    From  the  rood-loft  of  St.  Germain  I'Auxer- 
rois  ;  hy  Jean  Goujon. 
106,   107.   Funeral  Genii  from  the  tomb  of  Admiral  Philippe  de 
Chabot.      Jean  Goujon.      From    the   church   of   the 
Celestines. 
138-142.   Parts  of  the  grand  tomb  of  Anne  de  Montmorency, 
once  in  the  church  of  St.  Martin  de  Montmorency. 
Barthlélemy  Prieur. 
122.  Chimney-piece  from  the  Château  de  Villeroy,  by  Germain 
Pilon  ;  with  (loi)  Henri  II.,  hy  Jean  Goujon. 
1 1 5-1 1 7.   Part  of  the  tomb  of  the  family  of  Cossé-Brissac.   Etienne 
le  Hongre,  1690. 

r.   Salle  de  Michel- Ange. — 

17.  In  the  centre  is  a  fountain  from  the  Château  of  Gaillon, 
of  Italian  work,  the  gift  of  the  Republic  of  Venice  to 
Cardinal  d'Amboise. 
High  on  right  Wall.  The  Nymph  of  Fontainebleau,  by  Ben- 
venuto  Cellini,  ordered  by  François  I.  Instead  of 
placing  it  at  Fontainebleau,  Henri  II.  gave  it  to  Diana 
of  Poitiers,  who  placed  it  in  her  château  of  Anet.  It 
was  brought  to  Paris  at  the  Revolution. 

36.  Tomb   of   Albert    de   Savoie,    1535,    by    Ponzio   (Maître 
Ponce). 

38.  Tomb   of   André    Blondel    de    Roquencourt,    1538,    by 
Ponzio. 
12  bis.   Madonna,  by  Mino  da  Fiesole. 

48.   Bronze  Madonna.     From  the  Château  of  Fontainebleau 
(XV.  c). 

57.  St.  John  Baptist.     Donatello. 

Hercules  and   the   Hydra.     A  bronze  group  given  by 


94  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Louis  XIV.  to  Richelieu,  which  in  turn  has  orna- 
mented Marly,  Meudon,  and  St.  Cloud. 
Filippo  Strozzi,  by  Benedetto  de  Majano,  1491. 
28-29.  Two  slaves,  by  Michelangelo,  executed  for  the  tomb  of 
Julius  II.,  but  given  by  the  sculptor  to  Roberto  Strozzi, 
who  gave  them  to  François  I.  The  king  gave  them 
to  the  Connétable  de  Montmorency  for  the  Château  of 
Ecouen,  whence  they  passed,  after  his  death,  into  the 
hands  of  Richelieu,  who  took  them  to  his  château  in 
Touraine.  The  Maréchal  de  Richelieu  brought  them 
back  to  Paris  in  the  middle  of  the  XVIII.  c,  and 
they  were  seized  for  the  state  when  about  to  be  sold 
by  his  widow  in  1795.  They  now  stand  on  either  side 
of  a  magnificent  XV.  c.  doorway  from  the  Palazzo 
Spanga  at  Cremona.     Beyond  this  are — 

87.  Tomb  of  Louis  Poncher,   Secrétaire  du  Roi,   1491,  and 

Minister  of  Finance  to  François  I.  This,  and  the 
statue  of  his  wife,  Roberte  (1520  and  1521),  were  prob- 
ably executed  soon  after  1505,  when  Poncher  founded 
the  chapel  of  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  whence  they 
were  brought. 

"  Both  are  represented  as  lying  in  the  calm  sleep  of  death  ; 
the  treatment  of  the  husband  is  grand  and  noble,  the  draper)' 
splendidly  arranged,  and  the  heads  exhibit  much  fine  individual 
characterization  ;  the  beautiful  features  of  the  lady  especiall)' 
wear  the  touching  calmness  of  a  glorified  condition.  These 
works  are  amongst  the  most  exquisite  productions  of  their  glori- 
ous time." — Liihke. 

37.   Statue  of  Charles  de  Magny,  Capitaine  de  la  Porte  du 

Roi.      Fonzio,  1556. 
16.  Louis  XII.,   a  statue  by  Lorenzo   da  Mugiano.     From 

Gaillon. 
84  bis.  Virgin  and  Child.     French,  early  XVI.  c. 

84.   St.  George.     A   relief  by  Michel  Colo?nb,  1508,   executed 

for  the  chapel  in  the  château  of  Gaillon. 

88.  Tomb  of  Roberte  Legendre,  the  wife  of  Louis  Poncher, 

1522.  From  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois  ;  very  beautiful 
and  simple. 

In  the  embrasure  of  the  windows  are  bas-reliefs  in  bronze 
from  the  tomb  of  Marc-Antonio  della  Torre,  physician  of  Padua, 
by  Andrea  Riccio. 


MOYEN  AGE   ET  RENAISSANCE 


95 


Salle  des  Auguicr. — 
Centre.  Monument    of    Henri  de  Longucvillc,   by  François 
Auguier.     From  the  church  of  the  Celestines. 

164.  "  La  Renommée."     From  the  tomb  of  the  Due  d'Eper- 

non  at  Cadillac  in  Guienne. 
60  his.   Mercury,  by  Giovattni  da  Bologna. 

64,  67.   Four  conquered    nations,   by  Pierre  Francheville,   1548. 
From  the  base  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  Henri  IV, 
by  Giovanni  da   Bologna   and    Pietro    Pacca   on  the 
Pont  Neuf,  where  it  was  destroyed  at  the  Revolution. 
;-.  161,  162.   Four  Bronze  Dogs.     From  the  Château  de  Fontaine- 
bleau ;  by  Francheville. 
r.  193.  Tomb  of  Jacques  Souvré  de  Courtenvaux,  \iy  F.  Atiguier, 
1604-1669. 
147.   Henri  IV.     Bat'thelemy  Prietir. 
63.   David  and  Goliath.     Pierre  Francheville. 
191.  Tomb  of  Jacques  August  de  Thou.     François  Auguier. 

From  St.  André  des  Arts. 
62.   Orphée.     Pierre  Francheville. 
170.   Louis  XIII.    Jean  Warin. 
169.  Tomb    of    Charlotte    de    la    Tremouillc,    Princesse    de 

Condé.     From  the  Convent  of  Ave  Maria. 
167.  Anne  d'Autriche.      Simon  Gtiillain. 

165.  Louis  XIV.  as  a  child.      Simon  Guillain. 

166.  Louis  XIII.      Simon  Guillain. 

These  three  statues,  and  the  relief  above,  commemorated  the 
bridge  begun  (1639)  under  Louis  XIII.  and  finished  (1647)  under 
the  regency  of  Anne  of  Austria. 

Mercury  :  Pierre  Francheville. 
Salle  de  la  Chemine'e  de  Bruges  (left  of  corridor  on  entering). — 
Centre,  70  bis.    Copper  sepulchral  statue  of  Blanche  de  Cham- 
pagne, wife  of  Jean  I.,  Due  de  Bretagne,   1283,  executed  at  Li- 
moges early  XIV.  c.  for  the  abbey  of  Joie,  near  Hennebout,  of 
which  she  had  been  the  foundress. 

r.  The  celebrated  historic  skeleton  figure  from  the  Cimetière 
des  Innocents,  commonly  called  ''La  Mort  Saint-Itinocent"  of 
alabaster,  attributed  to  François  Gentil  of  Troves.  In  the  ceme- 
tery it  stood  under  the  fifth  arcade  of  the  "  charnier  de  Messieurs 
les  Martins,"  having  been  ordered  by  them.  It  was  in  a  box,  of 
which  the  churchwardens  had  the  keys.     On  All  Saints'  Day,  and 


96  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

till  the  middle  of  the  day  after,  the  effigy  was  shown  to  the  people. 
With  its  right  hand  the  skeleton  holds  the  folds  of  a  shroud,  its 
left  points  with  a  dart  to  a  scroll,  on  which  is  engraved — 

"  II  n'est  vivant,  tant  soit  plein  d'art. 
Ni  de  force  pour  résistance. 
Que  je  ne  frappe  de  mon  dard. 
Pour  bailler  aux  vers  leur  pitance." 

In  1670  the  canons  of  St.  Germain  removed  the  skeleton,  that  it 
might  not  be  injured  by  new  buildings  in  the  Rue  de  la  Ferro- 
nerie.  On  December  13,  1671,  la  figure  de  jaspe  représentant  la 
mort,  which  had  been  given  to  the  care  of  the  churchwardens,  was 
reclaimed,  and  a  judgment  of  July  31,  1673,  ordered  its  restitu- 
tion to  its  old  position.  But  in  1686  the  skeleton  seems  to  have 
been  still  in  the  care  of  a  churchwarden  named  Noiret  in  the  Rue 
des  Fers,  who  tried  to  sell  it,  but  was  forced  to  restore  it  in  1688, 
when  it  was  placed  between  the  pillars  in  the  Charnier  de  la 
Vierge  in  a  closed  box.  Here  it  remained  forty-eight  years.  But 
(October  29,  1736)  the  canons  of  St,  Germain  I'Auxerrois  moved 
it,  and  placed  it  at  the  back  of  the  cemetery  tower.  Upon  this 
the  Curé  des  Innocents  and  the  churchwardens,  forgetting  that 
the  canons  were  the  owners  of  the  charniers,  climbed  the  tower 
and  carried  off  the  skeleton.  A  lawsuit  ensued  and  (July  10, 
1737)  3.  judgment  was  obtained  forcing  the  restitution  of  the 
skeleton. 

On  suppression  of  the  church,  cemetery,  and  charniers  of  the 
Innocents,  in  1786,  the  skeleton  was  carried  to  St.  Jacques  la 
Boucherie,  then  to  the  Museum  of  Alexandre  Lenoir,  whence  it 
passed  to  the  Louvre. 

Statues  from  the  central  pavilion  of  the  Tuileries. 

Salle  Chrétienne  {right  of  Conidor.). — 

Tomb  of  St.  Drausin,  twenty-second  bishop  of  Soissons. 
From  the  abbey  of  Notre  Dame  de  Soissons — early  Mero- 
vingian sculpture.  The  cover  of  the  sarcophagus  does  not 
belong  to  it,  and  comes  from  St.  Germain  des  Prés. 

Sarcophagus  of  Livia  Primitiva.      From  Rome. 

Sarcophagus  from  Riguieux-le-Franc,  with  Christ  and  the 
Apostles,  placed  two  and  two  in  compartments  divided 
by  columns. 

Altar-front  of  St.  Ladrc  from  the  Abbaye  de  St.  Denis. 


SCULPTURE   MODERNE   FRANÇAISE  97 

Salle  Juda  ïq  uc.  — 

I.  La  stèle  de  Mcsah.     A  Semitic  inscription  of  thirty-four 
lines,  containing  the  history  of  the  wars  of  Moab  witli 
Israel,  896  a.c. 
5.   Fragment  of  a  lava  door  from  the  cities  of  Moab. 
Sarcophagi  from  the  tombs  of  the  kings 

The  Egyptian  Museum  of  Sculpture  is  entered  from  the 
east  side  of  the  Court  of  the  Louvre,  by  the  door  on  the 
right  as  you  face  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois.  The  collection 
is  magnificent.  One  cannot  but  recall  here  the  words  of 
Napoleon  I.  to  his  army  before  the  Pyramids  :  "  Allez  et 
pensez  que,  du  haut  de  ces  monuments,  quarante  siècles 
vous  observent.''  The  museum  forms  a  complete  encyclo- 
paedia of  the  religion,  arts  and  customs  of  the  Egyptians. 
In  the  Salle  He?iri  IV.  the  hieroglyphics  on  the  granite 
sphinx  from  Tanis  (numbered  23^;)  record  the  name  of 
King  Meneptah,  under  whom  the  exodus  of  the  Israelites 
took  place,  and  of  Sheshouk  I.,  the  Shishak  who  was  the 
conqueror  of  Rehoboam.  The  Salle  d'Apis  is  called  after 
the  bull  in  the  centre,  sacred  to  Ptah,  the  god  of  Memphis. 

Facing  the  entrance  of  the  Egyptian  collection  is  that 
of  the  Musée  Assyrien.  Most  of  the  objects  here  come 
from  the  palace  of  King  Sargon  VIII.  (b.c.  722-705)  at 
Khorsabad,  or  from  that  of  Sardanapalus  V.  (VII.  c.)  at 
Nineveh.  Most  magnificent  are  the  four  winged  bulls, 
•  whose  heads  are  supposed  to  be  portraits  of  kings. 

From  the  north  side  of  the  court  of  the  Louvre  is  the 
entrance  of  the  Musée  de  Gravure  ou  de  Chalcographie.  An 
enormous  plan  of  Paris,  engraved  1739,  is  invaluable  to 
topographers.  A  collection  of  portraits  in  pastel  includes 
that  of  Mme  de  Pompadour,  by  Latour. 

The  Sculpture  Moderne  Française  is  reached  on  the  north 
of  the  Pavilion  Sully,  on  the  west  of  the  court  of  the  Louvre. 
It  is  contained  in  the — 


98  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Salle  de  Puget. — 

204.   Perseus  and  Andromeda,   Milo  and  Croton,  by  Puget. 

From  the  gardens  of  Versailles. 
209.  A  small    copy   by    Girardon   of   the    statue    of   Louis 

XIV.,    in   the    Place   Vendôme,    destroyed   in    the 

Revolution. 
245,  246.   Geometry  and  Charity,  by  Legros, 

Salle  de  Coysevox. — 
227.  Tomb  of  Cardinal  Mazarin.      From  the  chapel  of  the 
Collège  des  Quatre  Nations,  now  the  Institute.     C 
Ant.  Coysevox. 
234.  Shepherd  and  Young  Satyr.     From  the  private  garden 
of  the  Tuileries.      Coysevox. 
The  Rhone.     From  St.  Cloud.      Coysevox. 
233.  Marie-Adélaïde  de  Savoie,  Duchesse  de  Bourgogne, 
as  a  hunting  Diana.      Coysevox.     From  the  gardens 
of  Trianon. 
Bronze   bust  of   Louis    II.    de    Bourbon — "le    grand 

C  o  n  d  é .  "     Coysevox. 
Venus,  from  the  gardens  of  Versailles.      Coysevox. 
Busts    of    Lebrun,    Bossuct,    Richelieu,    Marie    Serre 
(the  mother  of  Rigaud),  and  of  the  sculptor  himself. 
Coysevox. 
193.  Amphitrite.     Michel  Auguier, 

Salle  de  Coustou. — 

150  his.  Adonis  reposing    after  the   Chase.      Nicolas  Cou- 
stou. 

151,   155.    Louis    XV.  and  Marie    Leczinska.      From    the 
gardens  of  Trianon.      Gtcillaume  Coustou. 

250.  Julius  Caesar.     Nicolas  Coustou. 

268.   Hannibal.     Sébastien  Slodtz. 
Music.     Falconnet. 

Bas-reliefs  in  bronze.  From  the  pedestal  of  the 
statue  of  Louis  XIV.  in  the  Place  des  Victoires. 
Desjardins. 

170.  Mercury  attaching  the  Wings  of  his  Heels.     Pilgale. 

Salle  de  Houdon. — 
296.  Diana,     Houdon. 
284  bis.   Bacchante.     Pajou. 


ST.   GERMAIN  VAUXERROIS  gg 

272.  Cupid.     Bouchardon. 

284.   Bust  of  Mme  du  Barry.     Pajou. 

Model  of  Statue  of  Louis  XV.     Bouchardon. 

Salle  de  Chaudet. — 
314.  Cupid.      Chatidet. 
307.  Homer.     Roland. 
338.  Daphnis  and  Chloe.     Cortot. 
383.  Cupid  and  Psyche,     Canova. 
313.  The  Shepherd  Phorbas  and  Oedipus.     Chaudet. 

Salle  de  Rude. — 

Mercury,  Jeanne  Dare,  Young  Neapolitan  Fisherman, 
Christ,  Louis  David.     Rude. 

Theseus  contending  with  the  Minotaur.     Ramey. 

Psyche,  Sappho,  a  son  of  Niobe,  the  Toilette  of  Ata- 
lanta.     Pradier. 

Venus.     Simart. 

Spartacus.     Foyatier. 
382.   Philopoemon.     David  d^ Angers . 

Fisherman  dancing  the  Tarantella,  a  Vintager  impro- 
vising.    Duret. 

Despair,  and  the  Infancy  of  Bacchus.    Joseph  Perraud. 

It  was  from  the  end  of  the  palace  facing  St.  Germain 
I'Auxerrois  that  the  Empress  Eugenie  escaped,  at  2\  p.m., 
on  September  4,  1870. 

"  They  reached  the  colonnade  of  Louis  XIV.,  opposite  the 
Church  of  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  and  there,  in  front  of  the 
gilded  railing,  the  Empress  and  Mme  Lebreton  entered  a  fiacre. 
M.  de  Metternich  gave  the  driver  the  order  :  *  Boulevard  Haus- 
mann.' 

"A  lad  of  fifteen,  in  a  cap  and  blouse,  who  happened  to  be 
passing,  cried  out  : 

"  'She  is  a  good  one  all  the  same  ....  Why,  it  is  the 
Empress  !  ' 

"  His  exclamation,  luckily  for  the  fugitives,  was  lost  in  the 
noise  of  the  vehicle,  which  was  already  in  motion  and  going  in 
the  direction  of  the  Rue  de  Rivoli." — Comte  d'Hérisson. 

The  Rue  du  Louvre  occupies  the  site  of  several  famous 


lOO  IVALKS  IN  PARTS 

buildings,  including  the  later  Hôtel  de  Condé  or  Hôtel  de 
Bourbon,  destroyed  1758,  where  Louis  de  Bourbon,  son 
of  le  Grand  Condé,  the  eccentric  savage,  who  played  so 
conspicuous  a  part  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  who 
married  one  of  his  daughters  by  Mme  de  Montespan,  died 
suddenly  in  17 10,  while  his  wife  was  giving  a  carnival  ball. 
Here  also  stood  the  Maison  du  Doyen  (de  St.  Germain),  in 
which  Gabrielle  d'Estrees,  the  famous  mistress  of  Henri 
IV.,  died  suddenly  on  Easter  Eve,  1599,  after  supping  with 
Sebastian  Zamet,  a  former  lover.  It  was  at  this  entrance 
of  the  Louvre  that  the  unpopular  minister,  Concini, 
beloved  by  Marie  de  Medicis,  was  murdered,  April  27, 
16 1 7,  with  the  connivance  of  her  son,  Louis  XIII.  Facing 
us  is  the  parish  church  of  the  Louvre,  St.  Germam  VAuxer- 
rois,  which  was  founded  in  560,  by  St.  Germain  of  Paris,  in 
memory  of  his  great  namesake  of  Auxerre.  As  the  royal 
church,  it  held  the  first  rank  in  Paris  after  the  cathedral. 
It  was  taken  and  turned  into  a  fortress  by  the  Normans  in 
886,  and  at  that  time  it  was  called,  from  its  form,  St,  Ger- 
main le  Rond.  Robert  the  Pious  rebuilt  the  church 
997-1031.^  But  the  earliest  parts  of  the  present  building 
are  the  tower  against  the  south  wall,  the  choir,  and  the 
principal  entrance,  of  early  XIII.  c.  ;  the  chapels  of  the 
nave  are  XV.  c.  ;  the  porch,  built  by  Jean  Gaussel  (1435), 
the  façade,  transepts  and  chapels  of  choir  are  of  XV.  and 
XVI.  c. 

"The  porch  of  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  per- 
fectl)^  conceived.  In  front  are  three  principal  arcades  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  nave,  and  two  narrower  and  lower  arcades  for  the 
aisles  ;  a  similar  arcade  on  each  side  is  returned  for  the  side 
entrances.  The  vaulting,  closed  in  the  two  lowest  bays  at  each 
end,  is  surmounted  by  two  chambers,  covered  in  by  two  gables, 
pointed  and  lighted  by  little  windows,  pierced  in  the  tympanum, 

*  As  is  described  in  his  Life  by  the  monk  Helgaud. 


ST.   GERMAIN  L'A  UXER ROIS  loi 

and  concealing  the  difference  of  height  between  the  great  and  the 
little  arches.  A  balustrade  crowns  this  construction,  whirh 
forms  a  terrace  under  the  rose  window,  in  the  central  portion. 

"The  sculpture  and  details  of  this  porch,  which  has  been 
often  retouched  and  scraped  to  the  quick,  are  deficient  in  char- 
acter, weak  and  poor.  The  porch  is  to  be  studied  only  for  its 
ensemble  and  happy  proportions.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  arcades 
at  the  extremities  being  lower  than  those  of  the  centre,  the  wor- 
shippers, gathered  in  this  exterior  vestibule,  which  is  also  of 
considerable  depth,  are  perfectly  sheltered  from  the  wind  and 
the  rain,  while  movement  is  eas)^" — Viollet-le-Diu,  vii.  304. 

The  statues  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  and  St.  Mary  of 
Egypt  are  the  only  figures  adorning  the  porch  which  are 
contemporary  with  it  ;  the  rest  are  modern,  in  imitation  of 
the  early  idealistic  style,  the  angel  on  the  gable  being  by 
Marochetti.  But  the  effect  is  picturesque,  and  the  corridor, 
with  its  frescoes  by  Mettez,  and  the  groups  of  beggars 
who  are  always  to  be  found  on  its  steps,  has  afforded  sub- 
ject for  many  a  picture.  The  central  portal  is  XIII.  c. 
Of  its  six  statues,  that  of  St.  Geneviève  deserves  notice, 
with  a  candle  which  a  demon  is  trying  to  extinguish,  whilst 
an  angel  holds  a  chandelier  ready  to  give  a  fresh  light  if 
he  succeeds.  On  the  left  of  the  porch  is  the  Salle  des 
Archives^  an  interesting  room,  which  preserves  its  old  pave- 
ment, doors,  and  wooden  ceiling. 

The  church  is  cruciform,  with  double  aisles,  and  an 
encircling  wreath  of  chapels.  Once  the  interior  was  full 
of  interest,  but  this,  for  the  most  part,  has  been  "  restored  " 
away.  The  gothic  choir  was  modernized  by  the  miserable 
architect,  Bacarit,  in  17 15  ;  the  noble  rood-loft,  designed  by 
Pierre  Lescot,  and  sculptured  by  Jean  Goujou,  has  been 
removed,  and  many  of  the  ancient  tombs  and  sculptures 
have  vanished.  Still  there  is  an  aspect  of  antiquity,  color 
and  shadow  here  which  is  wanting  in  most  Parisian 
churches.     The  pulpit  and  stalls  have  survived  the  Revo- 


I02  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

lution,  and  the  state  seat  occupied  by  the  royal  family  on 
great  solemnities,  executed  in  1681,  from  designs  of 
Lebrun,  by  François  Mercier.  The  choir  grille  is  one  of 
the  best  pieces  of  metal  work  of  the  last  century.  The 
ancient  bosses  of  the  nave  and  chapels  have  escaped 
being  restored  away,  as  they  could  not  be  touched  without 
weakening  the  fabric. 

"They  bear  the  figures  of  St.  Vincent  and  St.  Germain,  who 
were  the  patron  saints  of  the  church,  of  St.  James  the  Greater,  St. 
Landry,  and  St.  Christopher,  who  is  crossing  a  torrent  with  the 
infant  Christ  on  his  shoulders.  The  most  graceful  of  all  is  St. 
Germain  in  his  bishop's  robes,  painted  and  gilt,  which  stands 
with  a  pierced  rose  background,  at  the  last  bay  of  the  chapel  of 
the  Virgin.  Some  of  them  seem  to  have  been  painted  with  ar- 
morial bearings.  The  clustered  columns  have  no  capitals." — De 
Guilhermy. 

Making  the  round  of  the  church  we  see — 

r.  The  2nd  Chapel {oi  Notre  Dame,  XIV.  c),  with  a  wooden 
screen,  is  a  complete  church,  with  stalls,  organ,  pulpit, 
&c.  In  the  retable  is  framed  a  stone  Tree  of  Jesse,  XIV. 
c,  from  a  church  in  Champagne.  Three  statuettes,  dis- 
covered behind  some  panelling,  are  coeval  with  the 
chapel — a  Madonna  and  Child,  with  Sts,  Vincent  and 
Germain. 

Right  Transept.      Guichard :  The  Descent  from  the  Cross. 

South  Door,  XV.  c,  with  a  Virgin  of  XIV.  c. 

û,th  Chapel  of  Choir.  Statues,  by  Laurent  Magnier,  of  the 
two  Etiennes  d'Aligre,  father  and  son  (1635,  1677),  Chan- 
cellors of  France. 

The  greater  part  of  the  stained  glass  is  modern,  but 
some  glass  of  the  XV.  c.  and  XVI.  c.  remains  in  the  tran- 
septs, especially  in  the  rose  windows.  In  the  original 
church,  in  656,  was  buried  St.  Landericus  or  Landry,  ninth 
bishop  of  Paris,  who  founded  the  Hôtel  Dieu,  and  sold 
the  furniture  of  his  house  to  feed  the  poor  in  a  famine. 
In  the  present  church  the  jester  of  Charles  V.  (for  whom 


ST.   GERMATN  LAUXERROIS  103 

the  king  made  a  splendid  tomb)  ;  the  poet  Malherbe  ;  the 
philosopher  André  Dacier  ;  the  painters  Coypel,  Houasse, 
Stella  and  Santerre  j  the  sculptors  Sarazin,  Desjardins 
and  Coysevox  ;  the  architects  Louis  Levau  and  François 
d'Orbay  ;  the  geographer  Sanson,  and  the  Comte  de  Cay- 
lus,  were  buried,  but  their  tombs  are  destroyed.  Here 
also  was  interred  (1617)  the  ambitious  Concini,  Maréchal 
d'Ancre,  the  influential  favorite  of  Marie  de  Medicis  (to 
whose  foster-sister,  Leonora  Galigai,  he  was  married), 
murdered  by  order  of  her  son  Louis  XIIL,  with  the  en- 
thusiastic approval  of  his  subjects,  before  the  eastern  en- 
trance of  the  Louvre  ;  but  his  rest  here  was  brief. 

"Next  morning,  the  lackeys  of  the  great  nobles,  followed 
by  the  scum  of  the  populace,  went  to  the  church  of  St.  Germain 
I'Auxerrois,  where  the  Marshal  d'Ancre  had  been  secretly  buried, 
exhumed  the  body  and  dragged  it  through  the  city  with  hoots  and 
obscene  shouts,  in  which  the  name  of  the  Queen-mother  was 
joined  with  that  of  Concini  ;  they  ended  by  cutting  his  remains 
in  pieces  and  burning  them.  One  madman  roasted  the  heart  and 
ate  it." — Henri  Martin,  "  Hist,  de  France.'" 

St.  Germain,  being  the  parish  church  of  the  Louvre, 
was  attended  by  the  sovereigns,  when  they  were  residing 
there,  on  all  great  religious  festivals.  Louis  XVL  and  his 
family,  followed  by  the  Assembly,  walked  in  the  proces- 
sion of  the  Fête-Dieu  to  this  church,  as  late  as  May  23, 
1790.  In  the  revolution  of  July,  1830,  the  church  was 
transformed  into  an  ambulance,  and  the  dead  were  buried 
in  a  trench  hastily  dug  opposite  the  entrance.  It  was  here 
that  the  dog  of  one  of  the  victims,  "le  chien  du  Louvre," 
as  Casimir  Delavigne  calls  him,  lay  for  weeks,  and  died 
upon  the  grave  of  the  master  he  had  followed  through  the 
combat.  On  February  14,  1831,  when  an  anniversary 
service  for  the  death  of  the  Due  de  Berry  was  being  cele- 
brated, the  people  burst  in  and  sacked  the  church;  the 


I04 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


stained-glass  and  stalls  were  broken,  and  the  tombs  muti- 
lated. For  six  years  after  this  the  building  was  closed  for 
worship,  the  sacristy  and  presbytery  being  used  as  a  mairie. 
Then  its  demolition  was  decided  on,  to  make  way  for  a 
direct  street  from  the  Louvre  to  the  Hôtel  de  Ville.  It 
was  only  saved  as  a  concession  to  the  entreaties  of  Cha- 
teaubriand that  the  authorities  would  spare  "  un  des  plus 
anciens  monuments  de  Paris,  et  d'une  époque  dont  il  ne 
reste  presque  plus  rien."  In  1837  its  restoration  was 
begun. 

It  was  the  bell  of  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois  which,  at 
2  A.M.  of  August  24,  1572,  gave  the  first  signal  for  the 
Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  at  the  order  of  the  young 
king,  Charles  IX.,  goaded  on  by  his  mother,  Catherine  de 
Medicis.  The  bell  was  the  sign  agreed  upon  for  the  mas- 
sacre to  begin  in  the  quarter  of  the  Louvre  ;  a  little  later 
the  bell  of  the  Tour  de  l'Horloge,  on  the  island,  announced 
the  massacre  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine.  The  modern 
tower  now  marks  the  spot  where  an  attempt  had  been 
made  two  days  before  to  murder  Admiral  Coligny  (the  first 
victim  of  the  massacre)  as  he  was  returning  from  an  inter- 
view with  the  king  to  his  residence  in  the  Hôtel  de  Pon- 
thieu,  in  the  Rue  des  Fossés  St.  Germain. 

"  He  walked  slowly,  reading  a  petition  just  presented  to  him, 
and  when  he  arrived  at  the  Rue  des  Fossés  St.  Germain  I'Aux- 
errois, opposite  a  house  inhabited  by  a  man  named  Villemur,  an 
old  tutor  of  the  Duke  de  Guise,  an  arquebuse,  loaded  with  two 
copper  balls,  was  fired  from  this  house  and  struck  Coligny.  One 
ball  cut  off  the  index  finger  of  the  right  hand  ;  the  other  made  a 
large  wound  on  the  left  arm.  Coligny,  without  exhibiting  as 
much  emotion  as  his  companions,  pointed  out  the  house  whence 
the  shot  came,  and  ordered  one  of  his  suite  to  go  and  tell  the 
king  what  had  happened,  and,  supported  by  his  servants,  re- 
turned on  foot  to  his  house. 

"  The  house  whence  the  gun  was  fired,  was  entered  ;  the  ar- 


ST.   GERMAIN  L'AUXERROIS  105 

quebuse  was  found,  but  the  assassin  Maurcvcrt,  immediately 
after  the  shot,  had  fled  by  a  back  door,  and,  mounting  a  horse 
waiting  for  him,  reached  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  where  he  found  an- 
other horse,  on  which  he  got  away  from  Paris." — Dulaure,  ''Hist, 
de  Paris." 

A  cloister  formerly  surrounded  the  church,  which,  in 
the  reign  of  Charlemagne,  already  enclosed  a  famous 
school  which  has  left  its  name  to  the  Place  de  l'Ecole. 
Here  Etienne  Marcel,  Prévôt  de  Paris,  lived,  and,  as  chief 
of  the  Jacquerie,  roused  the  fury  of  the  people  in  the 
XIV.  c.  ;  and  here  Calvin  lodged,  at  fourteen,  with  his 
uncle  Richard,  a  locksmith,  in  a  little  room  looking  on 
the  church,  of  which  the  chants  awakened  him  in  the 
morning  to  attend  the  Collège  de  la  Marche, 


CHAPTER   IL 

IN    OLD    PA  RIS. 

From  the  Rue  St.  Honoré  to  the  Quartier  des  Halles  and  Quartier  du 

Temple. 

ENGLISHMEN  are  often  specially  impressed  with 
Paris  as  a  city  of  contrasts,  because  one  side  of  the 
principal  line  of  hotels  frequented  by  our  countrymen  looks 
down  upon  the  broad,  luxurious  Rue  de  Rivoli,  all  modern 
gaiety  and  radiance,  whilst  the  other  side  of  their  court- 
yards opens  upon  the  busy  working  Rue  St.  Hotiore^  lined 
by  the  tall,  many-windowed  houses  which  have  witnessed 
so  many  Revolutions.  They  have  all  the  picturesqueness 
of  innumerable  balconies,  high,  slated  roofs,  with  dormer 
windows,  window-boxes  full  of  carnations  and  bright  with 
crimson  flowers  through  the  summer,  and  they  overlook  an 
ever-changing  crowd,  in  great  part  composed  of  men  in 
blouses  and  women  in  white  aprons  and  caps.  Ever  since 
the  fourteenth  century  the  Rue  St.  Honoré  has  been  one  of 
the  busiest  streets  in  Paris.  It  was  the  gate  leading  into 
this  street  which  was  attacked  by  Jeanne  Dare  in  1429. 
It  was  the  fact  that  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  and  the  Due 
de  Guise  had  been  seen  walking  together  at  the  Porte  St. 
Honoré  that  was  said  to  have  turned  half  the  moustache  of 
Henri  of  Navarre  suddenly  white,  from  a  presentiment  of 
the  crime  which  has  become  known  as  the  Massacre  of  St. 


ST.    ROCH  107 

Bartholomew.  Here,  in  1648,  the  barricade  was  raised 
which  gave  the  signal  for  all  the  troubles  of  the  Fronde. 
It  was  at  No.  3 — then  called  L'Auberge  des  Trois  Pigeons 
— that  Ravaillac  was  lodging  when  he  was  waiting  to  mur- 
der Henry  IV.  ;  here  the  first  gun  was  fired  in  the  Revo- 
lution of  July,  1830,  which  overturned  Charles  X.  ;  and 
here,  in  the  Revolution  of  1848,  a  bloody  combat  took 
place  between  the  insurgents  and  the  military.  Through- 
out this  street,  as  Marie  Antoinette  was  first  entering  Paris, 
the  poissardes  brought  her  bouquets,  singing — 

"  La  rose  est  la  reine  des  fleurs, 
Antoinette  est  la  reine  des  cœurs  ;  " 

and  here,  as  she  was  being  taken  to  the  scaffold,  they 
crowded  round  her  execution-cart  and  shouted — 

"  Madame  Veto  avait  promis 
De  faire  égorger  tout  Paris, 
Mais  son  coup  a  manqué 
Grâce  à  nos  canonniers  ; 
Dansons  la  carmagnole 
Au  bruit  du  son 
Du  canon  !  " 

Turning  east  towards  Old  Paris,  we  pass,  on  the  right 
of  the  Rue  St.  Honoré,  the  Church  of  St.  Roch,  of  which 
Louis  XIV.  laid  the  foundation-stone  in  1633,  replacing  a 
chapel  built  on  the  site  of  the  Hôtel  Gaillon.  The  church 
was  only  finished,  from  designs  of  Robert  de  Cotte,  in 
1740.  The  flight  of  steps  which  leads  to  the  entrance  has 
many  associations. 

"Before  St.  Roch,  the  tumbrel  in  which  was  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, stopped  in  the  midst  of  howling  and  hooting.  A  thousand 
insults  were  hurled  from  the  steps  of  the  church  as  it  were  with 
one  voice,  saluting  with  filth  their  queen  about  to  die.  She, 
however,  serene  and  majestic,  pardoned  the  insults  by  disregard- 
ing them." — De  Goncotirt. 


io8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

It  was  from  these  steps,  in  front  of  which  an  open  space 
then  extended  to  the  Tuileries  gardens,  that  Bonaparte 
ordered  the  first  cannon  to  be  fired  upon  the  royalists  who 
rose  against  the  National  Convention,  and  thus  prevented 
a  counter-revolution.  Traces  of  this  cannonade  of  13  Ven- 
démiaire are  still  to  be  seen  at  the  angle  of  the  church 
and  the  Rue  Neuve  St.  Roch.  The  portal  of  St.  Roch  is 
doric  below  and  corinthian  above.  The  interior  of  the 
church,  due  to  Antoine  Le  Mercier,  consists  of  a  wide 
central  nave  with  side  aisles  bordered  by  eighteen  chapels, 
a  transept  with  chapels,  and  a  choir  with  three  chapels, 
one  behind  the  other — a  plan  confused,  and  contrary  to  all 
laws  of  architecture,  but  certainly  rather  picturesque. 
Theological  Virtues  sustain  the  pulpit,  where  the  veil  of 
Error,  represented  by  a  ponderous  sculptured  curtain,  is 
giving  way  before  Catholic  Truth.  Against  the  pillar  on 
the  north  of  the  organ  is  a  medallion  monument  to  Cor- 
neille, who  died  in  the  Rue  d'Argenteuil,  October  i,  1684. 
Making  the  round  of  the  church  we  may  notice — 

n  1st  Chapel.  Tomb  of  Maupertuis.  Huez.  Medallion  of 
Maréchal  d'Asfeld,  1743  ;  bust  of  François,  Duc  de  Créqui  ; 
medallion  of  Mme  Lalève  de  Juilly.     Falconnet. 

ind  Chapel.  Bust  of  Mignard  by  Desjardins,  part  of  a  monu- 
ment to  which  the  figure  of  his  daughter,  Mme  de  Feu- 
quières,  belonged,  now  taken  hence,  to  represent  a  Mag- 
dalen at  the  foot  of  the  Calvary.  Tomb  of  the  Comte 
d'Harcourt,  hy  Renard.  Fine  bust  of  Lenotre,  by  Coysevox. 
Tomb,  by  Gidllaume  Coustou,  of  the  infamous  Cardinal 
Dubois,  minister  under  the  Orleans  Regency  and  during 
the  early  years  of  Louis  XV.  This  monument  was  brought 
from  the  destroyed  church  of  St.  Honoré.  The  face  of 
the  kneeling  figure  wears  a  most  complacent  expression. 

"  He  died  absolute  master  of  his  master,  and  less  prime  min- 
ister than  exercising,  in  all  its  extent  and  independence,  the 
whole  power  and  authority  of  the  king  ;  superintendent  of  Posts, 
Cardinal,  Archbishop  of  Cambrai,  with  seven  abbeys,  for  which 


ST.    ROC  H  109 

he  was  insatiable.  The  public  follies  of  the  Cardinal  Dubois, 
especially  after  his  master  no  longer  restrained  him,  would  fill  a 
book.  It  is  enough  to  show  what  a  monster  the  man  was,  whose 
death  brought  comfort  to  great  and  small,  and,  in  truth,  to  all 
Europe,  even  to  his  own  brother,  whom  he  treated  like  a  negro." 
— St.  Simon,  ''Mémoires.'' 

"  He  is  the  worst  and  most  selfish  priest  that  can  be  seen, 
and  God  will  punish  him." — Correspondance  de  Madaine  {Duchesse 
d'Orle'ans). 

2,rd  Chapel.     Tomb  of  Charles,  Due  de  Créqui. 

Transept.  "  La  Guérison  du  Mal  des  Ardents,"  a  picture 
by  Doyen,  which,  with  the  "  Prédication  de  St.  Denis,"  by 
Vie)t,  in  the  opposite  transept,  made  a  great  sensation  at 
the  time  they  appeared. 

"It  was  already  an  anticipation  of  the  quarrel  between  the 
classicists  and  romanticists.  The  younger  men  were  enthusiastic 
for  the  full,  theatrical  composition  of  Doyen  ;  the  'burgraves'  of 
the  day  exclaimed  against  the  decay  of  art,  and  reserved  their  ad- 
miration exclusively  for  the  learned,  calm,  and  harmonious  com- 
position of  Vien." — A.  J.  du  Fays. 

i\th  Chapel.  Of  St.  Clotilde,  by  Deve'ria.  In  the  apse  are 
several  pictures  by  Vien. 

Behind  the  Chapel  of  the  Virgin  (on  left)  is  the  entrance  of 
the  Chapel  of  Calvary,  rebuilt  1845.  It  contains  :  a  group 
of  the  Entombment  by  De  Seine;  a  Crucifixion  hy  Dus ei- 
gneur ;  and  a  Christ  on  the  Cross  by  Michel  Auguier,  for- 
merly on  the  high-altar  of  the  Sorbonne.  The  statue  of 
the  Virgin  is  by  Bogino.  The  statue  of  the  Madeleine,  by 
Lemoine,  was  originally  intended  to  represent  the  Com- 
tesse de  Feuquières,  daughter  of  Mignard. 

1st  Chapel  of  Nave.  Monument  of  the  Abbé  de  l'Epée, 
1789,  celebrated  for  his  noble  devotion  to  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  the  deaf-and-dumb,  and  founder  of  the 
institutions  in  their  favor. 

'ird  Chapel.  Monument  erected,  1856,  to  Bossuet,  who  died, 
1704,  in  the  Rue  St.  Anne,  in  this  parish. 

^th  Chapel,  or  Baptistery.  Group  of  the  Baptism  of  Christ, 
by  Le??toine,  formerly  in  St.  Jean-en-Grève. 

Running  north-west  from  the  Rue  St.  Honore',  behind 


no  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

St.  Roch,  is  the  Rtte  d^ Argenteuil,  where  No.  i8  was  in- 
habited by  Corneille.  The  street  is  crossed  by  the  hand- 
some Rue  des  Pyramides,  at  the  end  of  which,  facing  the 
Louvre,  is  an  equestrian  statue  of  Jeanne  Dare,  by 
Fremiot. 

It  was  at  the  corner  of  the  next  street,  the  Rue  de 
V Echelle,  that  the  carriage,  with  M.  de  Fersen  as  coach- 
man, waited,  with  its  agonized  freight,  for  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, whilst  she  lost  her  way  by  leaving  the  Tuileries  at 
the  wrong  exit  and  wandering  into  the  Rue  du  Bac,  on 
the  night  of  the  flight  to  Varennes. 

Crossing  the  Place  Royale  (to  which  we  shall  return 
later),  we  find  on  the  left  of  Rue  St.  Honore',  running 
north-east,  the  Rue  dc  Jean-Jacques  Rousseau  (formerly  Rue 
Plâtrûre  and  Grenelle  St.  Honore').  Rousseau  was  born 
on  the  second  floor  of  No.  2,  in  1622.  In  a  neighboring 
house,  the  poet  François  Rayner  was  born,  in  the  same 
year.  In  the  garden  of  No.  12  are  some  remains  of  a 
tower  belonging  to  the  walls  of  Philippe  Auguste.  At 
No.  41  are  some  vestiges  of  the  Hotel  de  Ferriére,  which 
belonged  to  Jean  de  la  Ferriére,  Vidame  de  Chartres, 
where  Jeanne  d'Albret,  mother  of  Henri  IV.,  died,  June 
9,  1572.  No.  58  was  the  Hbtel  des  Fermes,  where  the 
fermiers-généraux  had  their  offices.  It  is  of  the  XVI  c, 
and  became,  in  16 12,  the  property  of  Chancellor  Seguier^ 
who  rebuilt  it  and  offered  it  as  a  site  to  the  Académie 
Française.  No.  51,  the  Hbtel  de  Bullion,  was  formerly 
Hôtel  d'Herwert  or  Epergnon.  La  Fontaine  died  in  the 
street  in  1695.  At  the  end  of  the  street,  on  the  left,  is  the 
back  of  the  new  Post  Office.  The  Rue  de  Sartine  leads 
hence  at  once  to  the  Halle  de  Blé  {see  after). 

On  the  right  of  the  Rue  St.  Honoré,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Rue  de  l'Oratoire,  is  the  Church  of  the  Oratoire.     It 


RUE  DE  JEAN-JACQUES  ROUSSEAU.  m 

occupies  the  site  of  the  Hôtel  de  Montpensier,  which 
belonged  to  Joyeuse,  one  of  the  minions  of  Henri  HI., 
then  of  the  Hôtel  du  Bouchage,  in  which  Gabrielle 
d'Estre'es  lived  for  a  time,  and  where  Henri  IV.  received 
(December  27,  1594)  from  Jean  Châtel  that  blow  on  the 
mouth  with  a  knife,  which  caused  the  bold  D'Aubigné  to 
say  to  him  :  "  Sire,  God  has  struck  you  on  the  lips  because 
you  have  hitherto  only  denied  Him  with  your  mouth  ;  be- 
ware, for  if  you  deny  Him  with  your  heart,  He  will  strike 
you  in  the  heart."  M.  de  Bérulle  bought  the  hotel  for 
the  Pères  de  la  Congrégation  de  l'Oratoire  in  16 16,  and 
Le  Mercier  was  employed  by  Louis  XIIL  in  162 1  to  erect 
a  church  for  them,  that  they  might  not  suffer  by  the  de- 
struction of  the  chapel  of  the  Hotel  du  Bourbon,  within 
the  present  courts  of  the  Louvre,  which  he  was  about  to 
pull  down.  Thenceforth  the  edifice  was  called  V  Oratoire 
royal.  It  was  built  at  a  peculiar  angle  that  it  might  follow 
the  direction  of  the  palace,  and  this  adds  to  the  effect  of 
its  stately  portico.  Cardinal  de  Bérulle  died  suddenly 
within  its  walls  in  1690,  whilst  saying  mass  in  a  chapel. 
He  was,  in  France,  the  founder  of  the  Oratorians,  "un 
corps  oil  tout  le  monde  obéit  et  où  personne  ne  com- 
mande."^ Here  the  licentious  Régent  d'Orléans  used  to 
go  into  retreat,  "  à  faire  ses  pâques."  The  church  was 
once  famous  for  the  preaching  of  Massillon  and  Mas- 
caron.  At  the  Revolution  it  was  used  as  a  hall  for  pub- 
lic meetings,  and  continued  to  be  thus  employed  till 
1832,  when  it  was  given  to  the  protestants,  and  has  since 
been  celebrated  for  the  eloquence  of  Grétry,  Coquerel, 
and  Adolphe  Monod.  It  was  at  the  end  of  the  street 
nearest  the  Rue  St.  Honoré  that  Paul  Stuard  de  Caussado, 
Comte  de  St.  Megrim,  lover  of  the  Duchesse  de  Guise, 

»  General  Talon. 


112  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

was  murdered  as  he  came  from  the  Louvre,  July  21, 
1578. 

On  the  left  is  the  Rue  d'Orleans.  "Voici  la  rue 
d'Orléans,"  said  Louis  XVL  as  he  crossed  it  on  his  way 
to  his  trial.  "  Dites  la  rue  de  l'Egalité,"  answered  Chau- 
mette,  the  procureur-syndic  of  the  Commune,  who  accom- 
panied him.'  In  this  street  stood  the  Hôtel  de  Harlay, 
now  destroyed. 

At  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de  V Arbre  Sec  is  a  singular 
house  with  a  fountain  beneath  it,  dating  from  1529,  but 
reconstructed  1775.  It  was  formerly  called  Fontaine  de 
la  Croix  du  Trahoir,  and  marks  one  of  the  places  of  execu- 
tion before  the  Revolution,  where  a  guillotine  stood  en 
permanence,  at  the  foot  of  a  gibbet.  A  nymph  between 
the  windows  on  the  first  floor  is  by  Jean  Goujon.  The 
original  name  of  the  street — Rue  du  Trahoir — is  said  to 
have  resulted  from  Brunehaut,  daughter,  wife,  mother, 
and  grandmother  of  kings,  having  been  dragged  through 
it,  at  eighty,  at  a  horse's  tail.  This  was  one  of  the  spots 
used  for  the  burning  of  protestants,  and  Nicholas  Valeton 
was  burnt  here,  under  François  I. 

"  Henri  III.  was  passing  the  Croix  dti  Trahoir  when  a  man  was 
being  hanged.  The  king  being  told  by  the  court  officer  that  his 
crime  was  great,  said  with  a  laugh,  "Well,  do  not  hang  him  till 
he  has  said  his  in  mantis."  The  ruffian  swore  that  he  would 
never  utter  the  words  in  his  life,  as  the  king  had  given  orders 
not  to  hang  him  before.  He  persisted  so  that  they  had  to  appeal 
to  the  king,  who,  seeing  he  was  a  good  fellow,  pardoned  him." — 
Tallcfnant  des  Réaux. 

Near  this,  in  the  Rue  des  Poulies,  the  first  restaurant 
was  opened  in  1785,  Boulanger,  the  master,  taking  as  his 
sign,  "  Venite  ad  me  omnes  qui  stomacho  laboratis,  et  ego 

'  Lamartine. 


RUE  DE  r  ARE  RE   SEC  113 

VOS  restauraho  " — whence   the  name  which  has   ever  re- 
mained to  his  imitators.^ 

The  Rue  de  l'Arbre  Sec  led  into  the  Rue  des  Fosse's 
St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  which  took  again,  in  its  later 
existence,  a  name  it  had  borne  in  886.  Here,  when  the 
street  was  called  Rue  de  la  Charpenterie,  Jacques  de 
Bethizy,  Advocate  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  built  an 
hotel  in  141 6.  The  prolongation  of  the  street  was  called 
Rue  de  Ponthieu,  from  the  Hôtel  de  Ponthieu,  in  which 
(and  not,  as  sometimes  stated,  in  the  destroyed  Rue  de 
Bethizy)  Admiral  Coligny  was  murdered. 

"The  Duke  de  Guise,  followed  by  some  armed  men,  hurried 
to  the  house  of  Admiral  Coligny.  He  forced  the  outer  door, 
and  the  Swiss  of  the  Guard  of  Navarre  attempted  resistance,  but 
their  captain  and  some  men  were  killed  on  the  spot.  The  duke, 
who  had  awaited  in  the  court  the  issue  of  the  first  enterprise, 
ordered  some  of  his  soldiers  to  go  up  to  Coligny's  bedroom,  the 
door  of  which  was  entrusted  to  a  German  valet.  The  latter, 
opposing  any  entrance  to  his  master,  received  a  ball  in  the  head. 
Although  at  the  first  disturbance  at  the  outer  door,  the  admiral 
had  gone  to  the  window  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  tumult,  and 
although  it  was  easy  to  see  that  they  were  after  him,  he  made  no 
attempt  to  escape  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  lay  down  again  in  his 
dressing-gown,  and  pretended  to  be  asleep,  when  three  armed 
men  entered  the  room.  One  of  the  three  assassins,  who  was  a 
gentleman,  seized  him  by  the  arm,  crying  :  'Admiral,  you  sleep 
too  much  !  '  Coligny  pretended  to  awake  from  his  first  sleep, 
and  turning  to  the  man  Avho  addressed  him,  received  a  sword 
thrust  in  the  left  side  and  a  dagger  thrust  in  the  right  side.  The 
Swiss  were  then  ordered  to  throw  him  out  of  the  window.  But 
Coligny  was  not  yet  dead,  and  made  such  a  resistance  when  they 
tried  to  lay  hold  of  him,  that  four  Swiss  could  not  succeed,  in 
spite  of  the  blows  of  their  halberds  which  they  gave  him  on  the 
shins.  They  made  a  second  effort  to  execute  the  order  they  had 
received,  and  all  four  seized  him  by  the  body,  but,  seeing  that 
the  French  soldiers  were  busy  plundering  his  cash-box,  they  let 
Coligny  fall  and  joined  in  the  plunder.     All  at  once  a  voice  was 

*  Fournier,  Paris  démoli. 


114 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


heard  from  the  court  below,  '  Is  the  Admiral  dead  ?  Fling  him 
out  of  the  window  !  '  A  French  soldier  then,  approaching 
Coligny,  who,  although  prostrate  on  the  floor,  still  made  a 
vigorous  resistance,  put  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  into  his  mouth 
and  killed  him.  He  was  still  making  some  movement  when  he 
was  thrown  from  the  window.  After  this  murder  they  massacred 
about  forty  persons  who  were  found  in  the  house,  and  who  were 
for  the  most  part  in  Coligny's  service." — Letter  of  a  German  priest, 
written  on  the  day  after  the  massacre  to  Lambert  Gruter,  Bishop  of 
Neustadt. 

The  Hôtel  de  Ponthieu,  after  belonging  to  the  family 
of  Rohan-Montbazon,  became,  as  Hôtel  de  Lisieux,  a 
public-house,  where  the  great  comédienne,  Sophie  Arnauld, 
the  daughter  of  the  publican,  was  born,  in  the  very  room  in 
which  the  admiral  was  murdered.      All  is  destroyed  now. 

Left  of  Rue  St.  Honoré,  the  Rue  Sauvai  leads  to  the 
Halle  au  Blé,  a  circular  edifice  on  a  very  historic  site. 

"The  dome  of  the  Halle-au-Blé  is  an  English  jockey-cap  on 
a  high  ladder." —  Victor  Hugo. 

Here  stood  the  Hôtel  de  Nesle,  built  in  the  XHI.  c,  by 
Queen  Blanche  of  Castille,  who  received  there  the  homage 
of  Thibault,  the  poet-king  of  Navarre,  when  he  sang — 

"Amours  me  fait  comencier 
Une  chanson  nouvèle  ; 
Et  me  vuet  enseignier 
A  amer  la  plus  belle 
Qui  soit  el  mont  vivant," 

Hence,  also,  when  wearied  of  the  importunity  of  his 
love.  Queen  Blanche  sent  Thibault  to  fight  in  the  Holy 
Land,  where  he  hoped  to  conquer  the  affections  of  the  queen 
by  his  deeds  of  valor.  Here  the  beautiful  queen  died  (1253) 
on  a  bed  of  straw,  from  necessity's  sake,  and  the  hotel, 
after  passing  through  a  number  of  royal  hands,  was  given 
by  Charles  VI.  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Orleat.s— "  afin 
de  le  loger  commodément  près  du  Louvre,  et  dans  un  lieu 


HALLE  AU  BLÉ  115 

qui  répondit  à  sa  qualité."  Hence,  as  the  guilty  paramour 
of  his  sister-in-law,  Isabeau  de  Bavière,  the  Duke  went  to 
his  murder  in  the  Rue  des  Francs-Bourgeois. 

It  was  Catherine  de  Medicis  who  pulled  down  the  Hôtel 
de  Nesle,  and  who,  weary  of  the  Tuileries  as  soon  as  she 
had  completed  its  central  façade,  employed  Builant  to  build 
a  more  splendid  palace  on  this  site,  called,  from  its  later 
proprietors.  Hôtel  de  Soissons.  The  cruel  queen  had  her 
observatory  here,  and  when  a  light  was  seen  passing  there 
at  night,  the  passers-by  used  to  say,  "  The  queen-mother  is 
consulting  the  stars  ;  it  is  an  evil  omen  !  "  After  the  death 
of  Catherine  de  Medicis,  the  hôtel  belonged  to  Catherine 
of  Navarre,  sister  of  Henri  IV.,  then  to  Olympia  Mancini, 
Comtesse  de  Soissons  (mother  of  Prince  Eugène,  born  here 
Oct.  18,  1660),  who  fled  from  France  to  escape  being  tried 
for  poisoning  her  husband,  after  the  exposure  of  Mme  de 
Brinvilliers  and  the  institution  of  the  court  of  inquiry  called 
"  la  Chambre  des  Poisons.  "  Even  of  the  second  palace 
nothing  remains  to  this  day  except  a  fluted  column,  resting 
on  a  fountain,  adorned  with  the  arms  of  Paris,  and  attached 
to  the  exterior  of  the  Halle.  This  column,  erected  by 
Builant  in  1572,  is  said  to  have  been  used  for  the  observa- 
tions of  Catherine's  astrologer  ;  it  now  bears  a  sun-dial,  the 
work  of  Pingre,  canon  of  St.  Geneviève.  The  Revolution 
has  destroyed  the  monograms,  crescents,  fleurs-de-lis,  &c., 
which  once  adorned  it.  Such  was  the  fame  of  the  Hôtel 
de  Soissons,  that  Piganiol  de  la  Force  declares  that,  ex- 
cept the  Louvre,  no  dwelling-house  was  more  noble  and 
illustrious,  while  to  give  its  history,  or  rather  that  of  the 
Hôtels  de  Nesle,  de  Bahaigue,  d'Orléans,  de  la  Reine- 
Mère,  and  des  Princes,  as  it  was  successively  called,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  touch  on  the  great  events  of  every 
reign  during  its  long  existence. 


Ii6  WAL/^S  IN  PARIS 

Houses  now  cover  the  gardens  of  the  Hôtel  de 
Soissons,  which,  under  the  Regency,  were  covered  by  the 
wooden  booths  used  in  the  stock-jobbing  of  Law  and  his 
Mississippi  scheme. 

On  the  left  of  the  Rue  St.  Honoré  is  the  little  Rue  des 
Prouvaires  (Prouaires,  Prêtres),  where  Alphonso  of  Por- 
tugal was  lodged  in  the  time  of  Louis  XL,  and  for  his 
amusement  taken  to  hear  a  theological  discussion  at  the 
University  which  lasted  five  hours  !  "  Voilà  un  monarque 
honorablement  logi  et  bien  amusé,"  says  St.  Foix. 

If  we  continue  the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  the  Rue  des  Bour- 
donnais (named  from  Adam  and  Guillaume  Bourdon) 
opens  on  the  left  :  now  of  no  interest,  but  once  of  great 
importance  as  containing  the  glorious  Hôtel  de  la  Tré- 
mouille,  built  1490,  rivaling  the  noblest  buildings  of  the 
age  in  France,  but  wantonly  destroyed  in  1840.  The 
hotel  long  belonged  to  the  family  of  Bellievre,  to  which 
Mme  de  Sévigné  was  related.  "Ils  n'ont  pas  voulu  la 
vendre,"  she  wrote,  "  parce  que  c'est  la  maison  paternelle, 
et  que  les  souliers  du  vieux  chancelier  en  ont  touché  le 
pavé." 

"  The  architecture  of  this  hotel  was  one  of  the  most  graceful 
creations  of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  tower  at  the 
left,  the  great  staircase,  the  porticoes,  with  their  first  story,  had 
undergone  only  slight  mutilations.  The  façade,  looking  on  the 
court,  was  sadly  spoiled,  but  all  the  elements  of  its  decoration 
existed  in  part  under  the  modern  plaster  work.  On  the  garden 
side  the  façade  was  very  simple.  Too  much  admiration  cannot 
be  expressed  for  the  delicate  taste  displayed  by  the  architect  in 
this  charming  piece  of  work.  The  grouping  of  the  smooth  and 
decorated  surfaces  was  most  happy." — VioUet-le-Duc,  vi.  284. 

We  are  close  to  the  Halles  Centrales  (which  may  be 
reached  directly  from  the  Halle  au  Blé),  occupying  the 
district  formerly  called  Champeaux,  which,  from  time  im- 


LES  HALLES   CENTRALES  ny 

memorial,  was  at  once  a  centre  for  provisions  and  a  place 
of  sepulture.  The  great  roads  leading  to  Roman  towns 
were  always  bordered  by  tombs,  and  the  highways  leading 
to  the  Roman  Lutece,  on  the  island  in  the  Seine,  were  no 
exception  to  the  rule.  Especially  popular  as  a  place  of 
sepulture  was  the  road  across  the  marshes,  afterwards 
known  as  "grant  chaussée  Monsieur  Saint  Denys."  A 
chapel  dedicated  here  to  St.  Michael  at  a  very  early  date 
was  the  precursor  of  a  church  dedicated  to  the  Holy 
Innocents,  built  under  Louis  le  Gros,  whose  favorite  oath 
was  "  par  les  saints  de  Bethle'em."  The  whole  surround- 
ing district  had  by  this  time  become  a  cemetery,  and  the 
ancient  oratory  was  exclusively  used  for  prayers  for  the 
dead.  Philip  Augustus  surrounded  the  cemetery  with 
walls,  and  it  became,  as  the  Cimetière  St.  Jean  or 
Cimetière  Vert,  the  favorite  burial-place  of  the  middle 
classes.^  Of  great  extent,  it  was  surrounded  by  cloisters, 
decorated  with  frescoes  of  the  Dance  of  Death — La  Danse 
Maccabre — of  great  local  celebrity,  and  contained  a  very 
fine  old  lanterne  des  morts  and  several  hermitages,  some  of 
which  were  inhabited  from  motives  of  devotion,  but  one 
at  least  as  an  enforced  penance,  by  Rene'e  de  Vendôme — 
"  la  recluse  de  St.  Innocent  " — shut  up  here  for  life  as  a 
punishment  for  adultery.  Louis  XI.  erected  a  monument 
in  the  church,  with  a  statue,  to  another  hermit  of  the 
cemetery,  the  nun  Alix  la  Bourgotte.  The  church,  and 
the  cemetery  with  its  cloisters,  were  closed  in  1786.  Their 
site  is  now  covered  by  the  vast  buildings  of  the  modern 
Halles,  replacing  the  famous  Marché  aux  Innocents,  which 
had  its  origin  in  booths,  erected  in  the  time  of  Philippe  le 


^  Corrozet  preserves  this  epitaph  :  "  Cy-gist  JoUande  Bailh,  qui  tr(5passa  l'an 
1518,  le  88«  an  de  son  âp:e,  le  42*'  de  son  veuvage,  laquelle  a  vu,  devant  son  tré- 
pas, deux-cents  quatre-vingt-quinze  enfans  issus  d'elle." 


ii8  IVALJ^S  IN  PARTS 

Hardi,  when  the  cloisters  of  the  cemetery  were  a  fashion- 
able walk.  The  huge  existing  market,  consisting  of  six 
pavilions  separated  by  three  streets,  only  dates  from  1858. 
The  best  time  for  visiting  it,  and  seemg  the  crowds  which 
frequent  it,  is  between  6  and  8  a.m. 

"  A  bright  gleam  announced  the  day.  The  great  voice  of  the 
Halles  roared  higher,  and,  at  intervals,  peals  of  bells  in  a  distant 
steeple  broke  this  rolling  and  swelling  clamor.  They  entered 
one  of  the  covered  streets  between  the  fish  market  and  the  fowl 
market.  Florent  raised  his  eyes  and  looked  at  the  lofty  vault 
with  its  interior  wood-work  shining  between  the  "black  lace-work 
of  the  cast-iron  girders.  When  he  reached  the  great  central 
street,  he  dreamed  he  was  in  some  strange  city,  with  its  distinct 
quarters,  its  suburbs,  its  villages,  its  promenades  and  roads,  its 
squares  and  places,  placed,  just  as  it  was,  entire,  under  a  shed, 
some  wet  day,  by  some  gigantic  caprice.  The  shadows,  slum- 
bering in  the  angles  of  the  crossing  roofs,  multiplied  the  forest 
of  pillars,  enlarged  to  infinity  the  delicate  mouldings,  the  de- 
tached galleries,  the  transparent  Venetian  blinds,  and,  above  this 
city,  in  the  deepest  darkness,  was  a  vegetation,  an  efflorescence, 
a  monstrous  outgrowth  of  metal,  whose  stems,  climbing  and 
twining,  and  branches,  twisting  and  interlacing,  covered  a  world 
with  the  tracery  of  the  foliage  of  some  primeval  grove.  The 
quarters  were  still  asleep,  their  railings  closed.  The  butter 
and  fowl  markets  displayed  a  line  of  small  trellised  shops,  and 
long  deserted  alleys,  under  the  rows  of  gas-jets.  The  fish 
market  was  just  opened  ;  some  women  crossed  the  rows  of  white 
slabs,  spotted  with  the  shadow  of  baskets  or  forgotten  rags.  In 
the  market  for  vegetables,  for  flowers  and  fruits,  the'  hubbub  in- 
creased. Gradually  the  city  awoke,  from  the  popular  quarter, 
where  the  cabbages  had  been  heaped  up  since  four  o'clock,  to  the 
rich  and  idle  quarter,  that  only  took  from  the  hooks  its  pullets 
and  pheasants  about  eight  o'clock. 

"  But  in  the  great  open  streets  there  was  an  affluence  of  life. 
Along  the  footwalks,  on  each  side,  the  market  gardeners  were 
there  ;  the  small  cultivators  from  the  neighborhood  of  Paris,  dis- 
played in  their  baskets  the  crops  gathered  the  evening  before, 
boxes  of  vegetables  or  handfuls  of  fruit. 

"In  the  midst  of  the  incessant  ebb  and  flow  of  the  crowd, 
wagons  entered  under  the  arches,  checking  the  sounding  trot  of 


fontainp:  des  innocents 


119 


their  horses.  Two  of  these  vehicles,  left  across,  barred  the  road. 
Florent,  to  pass,  had  to  lean  his  hand  against  one  of  the  gray 
sacks,  like  those  of  charcoal,  whose  enormous  weight  bent  down 
the  springs  ;  the  sacks  had  the  odor,  fresh  and  moist,  of  seaweed  ; 
one  of  them,  broken  at  one  corner,  let  a  black  mass  of  big  mus- 
sels escape.  At  every  step  they  had  to  pause.  The  fish  was 
coming  in  ;  the  trucks  came,  one  after  the  other,  with  big  wooden 
cages  full  of  baskets,  that  the  railroads  brought  full  from  the 
ocean.  And  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  fish-trucks,  which  be- 
came more  and  more  numerous  and  disturbing,  they  flung  them- 
selves under  the  wheels  of  the  trucks  of  butter,  eggs,  and  cheese, 
big  yellow  wagons  with  four  horses  and  red  lamps  ;  strong  men 
picked  up  the  cases  of  eggs,  the  baskets  of  butter  and  the 
cheese  and  carried  them  to  the  auction-room,  where  clerks,  in 
low  caps,  were  writing  in  note-books  by  the  glare  of  the  gas. 

"  Claude  was  delighted  with  the  tumult  ;  he  lost  himself  in  an 
effect  of  light,  in  a  group  of  blouses  or  in  the  unloading  of  a 
vehicle.  At  last,  they  were  free.  As  they  were  traversing  the 
long  street,  they  walked  into  an  exquisite  odor,  which  floated 
around  them  and  seemed  to  follow  them.  They  were  in  the 
middle  of  the  market  of  cut  flowers.  In  the  square,  right  and 
left,  women  were  sitting  with  square  baskets  before  them,  full  of 
bunches  of  roses,  of  violets,  of  dahlias,  and  of  daisies.  The 
bunches  looked  dull,  like  spots  of  blood,  and  gently  pale  with 
silvery  gray  tints  of  great  delicacy.  Near  a  stall,  a  lighted 
candle  struck,  in  the  black  background,  a  sharp  note  of  color, 
the  bright  tufts  of  the  daisies,  the  blood-red  hue  of  the  dahlias, 
the  blueness  of  the  violets,  the  living  flesh  tints  of  the  roses. 
Nothing  was  more  sweet  or  spring-like  than  the  tender  per- 
fumes encountered  on  the  footpath  after  the  pungent  odors  of  the 
fish  or  the  pestilential  smell  of  the  butter  and  cheese." — Zola, 
'^  Le  Ventre  de  Paris. ^^ 

"  Les  Piliers  des  Halles  "  were  formerly  very  pict- 
uresque, but  nothing  now  remains  of  the  past,  except  the 
Fo7itame  des  Iniiocents^  which  now  stands  in  a  shady  square 
at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Halles.  Originally  dating 
from  the  XHI.  c,  it  was  reconstructed  in  1550  after  a  plan 
of  Pierre  Lescot,  and  decorated  with  sculpture  by  Jean 
Goujon.     But   it  was  then  attached    to    the  church  wall, 


T20 


WAL/CS  IN  PARIS 


which  gave  it  quite  a  different  appearance.  John  Evelyn 
says,  "Joyning  to  this  church  is  a  com'on  fountaine,  with 
good  rehevo's  on  it."  Since  its  removal  to  its  present 
site,  its  aspect  has  been  further  altered  by  the  addition  of 
a  cupola  and  disproportionate  base  :  at  the  same  time  new 
nymphs  by  Pajou  were  added  to  those  of  Jean  Goujon. 
Stripped  of  its  original  interest,  the  fountain  is  still  a  chef- 


THE   FONTAINE   DES    INNOCENTS. 


(V œuvre  oi  the  French  renaissance  of  the  XVI.  c,  and  its 
earlier  and  still  existing  decorations,  by  Jean  Goujon,  are 
of  the  greatest  beauty. 

It  was  to  the  Halles  that  Jacques  d'Armagnac,  Duc  de 
Nemours,  after  having  been  confined  in  an  iron  cage,  was 
brought  from  the  Bastille  to  be  beheaded,  August  4,  1477, 
by  order  of  Louis  XL,  and  there  that  his  children,  dressed 


ST.   EU  ST  A  CHE 


121 


in  white,  were  forced  to  stand  beneath   the  scaffold,  that 
their  robes  might  be  saturated  with  their  father's  blood. 

Behind  the  Halles,  which  are  ever  filled  with  a  roar  of 
voices  like  a  storm  at  sea,  rises  the  huge  mass  of  the  great 
church  of  St.  Eustache,  the  most  complete  specimen  of 
renaissance  architecture  in  Paris,  a  gothic  five-sided 
church  in  essentials,  but  classical  in  all  its  details,  and 
possessing  a  certain  quaint,  surprising  and  imposing  gran- 
deur of  its  own,  though   brimming  with  faults   from  an 


ST.  EUSTACHE 


architectural  point  of  view.     Henri   Martin,  who  calls  it 

"  the  poetical  church  of  St.  Eustache,"  considers  it  the  last 

breath  of  the  religious  architecture  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Begun  in  1532,  it  was  completed  as  we  now  see  it  (except 

the  principal  portal — altered  since,  and  still  incomplete), 

by  the  architect  David,  in  1642. 

"  The  Renaissance  effaced  the  last  traces  of  the  old  national 
art.  .  .  .  The  forms  of  ancient  Roman  architecture,  which 
were  not  well  known,  were  applied  to  the  system  of  construction 
of  the  Gothic  churches,  which  was  despised  without  being  under- 


122  WALA^S  IN  PARIS 

stood.  Under  this  equivocal  inspiration  the  great  church  of  St. 
Eustache  was  begun  and  ended,  an  edifice  badly  conceived,  badly 
built,  a  confused  mass  of  details  borrowed  from  all  sides,  with- 
out connection  and  without  harmony  ;  a  kind  of  Gothic  skeleton 
clothed  in  Roman  rags,  stitched  together  like  a  harlequin's 
dress." — VioUet-le-Diu,  i.  240. 

The  richly-decorated  renaissance  portals  are  sur- 
mounted by  gothic  rose-windows,  divided  by  balustrades, 
and,  at  the  summit  of  the  south  gable,  a  stag's  head  with 
a  crucifix  between  its  horns,  in  memory  of  the  miraculous 
animal  by  which  the  saint  was  converted  when  hunting. 
Classical  pilasters  divide  the  windows,  and  decorate  the 
flying  buttresses,  and  a  very  graceful  classical  campanile 
of  the  XVII.  c.  surmounts  the  Lady  Chapel. 

With  all  its  faults,  the  vast  and  lofty  interior  will  prob- 
ably strike  the  ordinary  visitor  with  admiration  for  its 
stately  magnificence.^     He  may  notice  : — 

/\th  Chapel.     Gourlier:  Marriage  of  the  Virgin — a  relief. 
5///  Chapel.     Magitnel :  Ecce  Homo — a  relief. 
Transepts.     Statues  by  Del/ay  ;  frescoes  by  Sigtiol. 

The  windows  of  the  choir  and  apse  are  of  1631,  and  bear, 
constantly  repeated,  the  name  of  their  artist,  Soulignac,  unknown 
elsewhere. 

4M  Chapel  of  Choir.     Restored  frescoes  of  XVII.  c. 

^th  {Tertninal)  Chapel.  The  statue  of  the  Virgin,  by  Pigalle, 
sculptured  for  the  dome  of  the  Invalides. 

9///  Chapel.  The  tomb  of  Jean  Baptist  Colbert,  1683,  the 
famous  minister.  He  is  represented  kneeling  on  a  sar- 
cophagus, at  the  base  of  which  are  figures  of  Religion  and 
Abundance. 

"In  the  parish  church  of  St.  Eustache  is  the  life-size  statue 
of  M.  Colbert,  grand  treasurer  of  the  order  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
with  the  mantle  and  collar  of  the  knights.  There  is  no  one  who 
would  not  take  him  for  a  knight." — St.  Simon. 

^  It  is  the  largest  church  in  Paris  except  Notre  Dame,  being  318  feet  long, 
and  132  feet  wide  at  the  transept. 


ST.   EU  ST  ACHE 


123 


'*  Mazarin  left  the  king  a  precious  legacy.  *  Sire,'  he  said  in 
presenting  to  him  a  simple  clerk  of  the  finance  office,  '  I  owe 
everything  to  you,  but  I  think  I  shall  balance  my  account  with 
your  Majesty  by  giving  you  Colbert.'" — To  uc  hard-La  fosse,  ''Hist, 
de  Paris" 

"  The  people  were  as  ungrateful  as  the  king  had  been.  It 
was  necessary  to  convey  his  corpse  from  his  hotel  in  the  Rue 
Neuve  des  Petits  Champs  to  the  church  of  St.  Eustache  by  night, 
for  fear  lest  the  funeral  be  insulted  by  the  market  folk.  The 
people  of  Paris  only  saw  in  Colbert  the  author  of  heavy  and  vex- 
atious taxes  established  after  the  war  with  Holland,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  France,  in  general,  accustomed  by  Colbert  himself  to  refer 
to  the  king  all  the  good  and  great  measures  which  the  minister 
had  suggested,  assigned  to  the  king  the  glory  and  to  the  Comp- 
troller General  of  Finance  the  miseries  that  glory  cost.  The 
people  had  no  suspicion  of  the  struggles  that  took  place  in  the 
council,  and  the  better  informed  class  of  citizens,  who  were 
brought  into  contact  with  Colbert,  alone  was  in  a  position  to  ap- 
preciate him.  We  must  always  recognize  this  fact,  that  for  great 
men  there  are  only  two  judges  :  God  and  posterity. 

"With  Colbert  ended  the  line  of  great  ministers." — Martin, 
"  Hist,  de  France." 

N.  Transept.  On  the  bénitier,  Pope  Telesiphorus  (139,  who 
instituted  Holy  Water)  blessing  the  water. 

Left  of  the  Organ.  Medallion  monument  of  General  Fran- 
çois de  Chevert,  1760,  with  an  epitaph  by  Diderot,  telling 
how  "sans  ayeux,  sans  fortune,  et  sans  appui,  il  s'éleva 
malgré  l'envie,  à  la  force  de  mérite." 

The  magnificent  sculptures  which  Jacques  Sarrazin  executed 
for  the  high-altar  and  apse,  all  perished  in  the  Revolution.  The 
St.  Louis,  Virgin,  and  infant  Saviour  were  portraits  of  Louis 
XHL,  Anne  of  Austria,  and  Louis  XIV.  !  The  "  banc  d'œuvre  " 
was  executed  by  Lepautre  from  designs  of  Cartaud  for  the  Ré- 
gent Duc  d'Orléans,  at  a  cost  of  20,000  livres.  All  memorials  are 
destroyed  of  Admiral  de  Tourville  ;  the  Due  de  la  Feuillade  ; 
d'Armenonville,  keeper  of  the  seals  ;  Marin  de  la  Chambre, 
physician  of  Louis  XIV.  ;  Voiture,  Vaugelas,  Furetière,  Ben- 
serade,  La  Mothe  le  Vayer,  and  the  painter  Charles  de  la  Fosse, 
buried  in  this  church.  Besides  the  tomb  of  Colbert,  only  the 
monument  of  Chevert  (which  was  taken  to  the  Musée  des  Monu- 
ments Français)  has  been  preserved. 


124  WALA^S  IN-  PARTS 

"  It  is  impossible  to  point  to  a  single  detail  which  is  not  ele- 
gant, or  to  anything  offensively  inappropriate.  Yet  the  eye  is 
everywhere  offended  by  the  attenuation  of  classical  details,  and 
the  stilting  that  becomes  necessary  from  the  employment  of  the 
flatter  circular  arch  instead  of  the  taller  pointed  one.  The  hol- 
low lines  of  the  corinthian  capitals  are  also  very  ill-adapted  to 
receive  the  impost  of  an  arch  ;  and  when  the  shaft  is  placed  on  a 
base  taller  than  itself,  and  drawn  out,  as  is  too  often  the  case 
here,  the  eye  is  everywhere  shocked,  the  great  difference  being, 
that  the  gothic  shaft  was  in  almost  all  instances  emplo)^ed  only 
to  indicate  and  suggest  the  construction,  and  might  therefore  be 
loo  diameters  in  height  without  appearing  weak  or  inappropri- 
ate. " — Fergusson. 

It  was  in  this  church  that  720  wreaths  of  roses  were 
distributed  to  mark  the  Burgundians  during  the  terrible 
massacre  of  the  followers  of  Armagnac  in  141 8.  Here  in 
the  beginning  of  the  XVI.  c,  whilst  the  rivalry  between 
Church  and  theatre  was  at  its  height — 

"  The  curé  of  St.  Eustache  was  in  the  pulpit  doing  his  best 
to  edify  his  audience,  when  Jean  du  Pontalais  happened  to  pass 
before  the  church.  The  sound  of  the  little  drum  with  which 
Pontalais  was  summoning  the  crowd,  forced  the  preacher  to  raise 
his  voice  and  broke  the  thread  of  his  discourse.  The  more  the 
tambourine  sounded,  the  louder  bawled  the  parson,  and  the  con- 
test began  to  amuse  the  audience.  At  last  the  harassed  preacher 
gave  orders  to  go  and  silence  the  mountebank.  Some  pious 
members  went  out,  ....  and  never  came  back.  They  went  to 
increase  the  crowd  around  the  thumper,  instead  of  stopping  his 
thumping.  The  noise  of  the  tambourine  redoubled.  At  last  the 
curé,  out  of  patience,  left  the  pulpit,  came  out  of  the  church 
and  went  straight  up  to  Pontalais.  'Hello!'  cried  Pontalais, 
'  who  has  given  you  the  impudence  to  preach  while  I  am  playing 
the  drum?'  Then  the  preacher,  more  vexed  than  ever,  took  the 
cutlass  of  his  Famulus  (the  beadle)  who  was  with  him,  and  made 
a  great  gash  in  the  tambourine.  As  he  returned  to  the  church  to 
finish  his  sermon,  Pontalais  takes  his  drum,  runs  after  the  priest 
and  claps  it  on  his  head  like  an  Albanian  hat,  with  the  cut  end 
downwards.  The  preacher  wished  to  mount  the  pulpit  in  the 
state  in  which  he  was,  to  show  the  insult  that  had  been  done 
him,  and  how  the  word  of  God  was  despised.     But  the  people 


ST.    EU  ST  A  CHE  125 

laughed  so  loud  at  seeing  him  with  the  drum  on  his  head,  that  he 
could  not  keep  his  audience  that  day  and  was  forced  to  retire  and 
hold  his  tongue,  for  a  remonstrance  was  made  to  him  to  the  effect 
that  it  was  not  the  act  of  a  wise  man  to  quarrel  with  a  fool." — 

Dcschancl,  "  La  vie  des  conie'diejis." 

St.  Eustache  has  always  been  the  special  church  of  the 
Halles,  and  it  was  here,  in  1701,  that  the  Dames  de  la 
Halle,  with  whom  he  was  very  popular,  caused  a  special 
Te  Deum  to  be  sung  for  the  recovery  from  dangerous  ill- 
ness of  Monseigneur,  son  of  Louis  XIV. 

"The  Revolutionary  Society  sat  at  St.  Eustache.  It  was 
composed  of  lost  women,  female  adventurers,  recruited  in  vice 
or  in  the  haunts  of  misery,  or  the  cells  of  the  madhouse.  The 
scandal  of  their  sessions,  the  tumult  of  their  motions,  the  oddity 
of  their  eloquence,  the  audacity  of  their  petitions,  troubled  ex- 
cessively the  Committee  of  Public  Safety.  These  women  were 
going  to  dictate  the  law  under  the  pretext  of  giving  advice  to  the 
Convention." — Lamartine,  ^^  Hist,  des  Girondins.'^ 

This  church  also  was  especially  connected  with  the 
J^êtes  de  la  Raison. 

"St.  Eustache  presented  the  appearance  of  a  large  drinking 
shop.  The  choir  represented  a  landscape  ornamented  with 
cottages  and  clumps  of  trees.  In  the  distance  were  mysterious 
thickets,  and  some  '  practicable  '  footpaths  had  been  cut  in  the 
great  piles  of  rock  work.  These  precipices  of  common  deal  were 
not  inaccessible.  Troops  of  prostitutes,  who  impudently 
marched  in  file,  ran  after  the  men,  and  the  creaking  of  the 
planks  under  their  hurried  tread  was  continually  audible, 

"Around  the  choir  were  ranged  tables  laden  with  bottles, 
sausages,  chitterlings,  pies,  and  other  meats.  On  the  altars  of 
the  lateral  chapels  sacrifices  were  made  at  the  same  time  to  lust 
and  gluttony,  and  hideous  traces  of  intemperance  were  seen  on 
the  consecrated  slabs, 

"The  guests  streamed  in  by  every  door;  every  one  who 
came  took  part  in  the  feast.  Children  of  seven  and  eight,  girls 
as  well  as  boys,  put  their  hands  into  the  dishes  in  sign  of  liberty, 
and  even  drank  from  the  bottles,  and  their  quick  intoxication 
excited  the  laughter  of  the' vile  beings  who  shared  in  it," — Mer- 
cier. "  Le  nouveau  Pat  is.'' 


126  •      l^VALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  Rue  du  jfour^  just  behind  the  west  end  of  St. 
Eustache,  was  formerly  Rue  du  Séjour,  from  a  residence  of 
Charles  V.  The  Hotel  du  Royaumotit  (No.  4)  was  built 
here  in  1613,  by  the  Abbé  du  Royaumont,  and  afterwards 
became  the  property  of  the  Comte  de  Montmorency- 
Boutteville,  the  famous  duellist.     Its  old  portal  remains. 

The  Rue  du  Jour  falls  into  the  Rue  Montmartre^  which 
contained  the  Chapelle  St.  Joseph,  built  by  the  Chancellor 
Séguier,  and  in  which  Molière  and  La  Fontaine  were 
buried  ;  it  was  destroyed  in  the  Revolution. 

Opening  from  the  Rue  Montmartre,  on  the  left,  is 
(much  curtailed  by  modern  improvements)  the  Rue  de  la 
Jussienne,  a  name  commemorating  the  popular  pronun- 
ciation of  the  church  of  St.  Marie  l'Egyptienne,  which  dated 
from  the  XIV.  c,  and  stood  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue 
Montmartre. 

"The  stained  windows  of  the  time  of  Francis  I.  represented 
the  life  of  the  patron  saint,  and  inscriptions  of  singular  quaint- 
ness  explained  the  circumstances — even  those  which  the  saint 
herself  thought  it  necessary  to  expiate  by  a  long  course  of 
penitence." — De  Guilhermy. 

It  was  in  going  to  his  devotions  at  this  church  that 
Henri  III.  drew  from  under  the  little  dogs,  which  he 
carried  slung  in  a  basket  around  his  neck,  and  gave  to 
Chancellor  Chiverny  the  edict  which  took  away  from  the 
bourgeois  of  Paris  the  rights  of  nobility  granted  them  by 
Charles  V. 

No.  2,  Rue  de  la  Jussienne,  belonged  to  the  Hôtel  of 
Mme  du  Barry,  and  the  financier  Peruchet  had  his  bureau 
there  in  the  time  of  Louis  XV.  It  has  the  handsome 
decorations  of  heads  and  garlands  of  the  time  of  Louis 
XV.  The  next  street  on  the  left  of  the  Rue  Montmartre 
was  the  Rue  des  Vieux  Augustins,    where,   at    No.   17, 


HOTEL   DE   BOURGOGNE  127 

Charlotte  Corday  lodged  in  1793,  ^"^  ^^e  Hôtel  de  la 
Providence. 

The  modem  Rue  de  Turbigo  runs  north-east  from  St. 
Eustache  to  the  Place  de  la  Re'publique  on  the  Boulevards, 
crossing  the  site  of  the  fine  hotel  of  the  Marquis  de  I'Hos- 
pital.  In  the  great  modern  cross  street,  called  Rue 
Etienne  Marcel,  a  grand  and  picturesque  old  tower  is  to 
be  seen,  in  a  court  on  the  right  side,  sadly  hemmed  in  by 
modern  houses.  This  is  all  that  remains  of  the  Hotel  de 
Bourgogne,  sometimes  called  Hôtel  d'Artois,  having  been 
built — in  the  "  quartier  Mauconseil  " — by  the  Comte  d'Ar- 
tois in  the  XHI.  c.  Under  Charles  VI.  the  hôtel  was  often 
the  residence  of  Jean  sans  Peur,  Duke  of  Burgundy.  It 
was  bought  in  1548  by  the  Confrérie  de  la  Passion,  that 
they  might  represent  their  mysteries  there.  After  a  few 
years  they  let  it  to  "  les  Enfants  Sans  Souci,"  a  society  of 
amateur  actors  of  good  family;  from  them  it  passed  to 
more  regular  actors,  known  as  "  Come'diens  de  l'Hôtel  de 
Bourgogne." 

"  Me'lite,"  the  first  play  of  Corneille,  was  represented  at 
the  Hôtel  de  Bourgogne  in  1625  ;  his  other  plays  were 
acted  there  as  they  appeared,  and  it  was  here  that  Chris- 
tina of  Sweden  shocked  Anne  of  Austria  by  sitting  at  the 
performance  "  dans  une  position  si  indécente,  qu'elle  avait 
ies  pieds  plus  hauts  que  la  tête."  There  was  a  perpetual 
rivalry  between  this  theatre  and  that  of  Petit-Bourbon, 
where  the  plays  acted  were  those  of  Molière,  who  ridiculed 
the  actors  of  the  Hôtel  de  Bourgogne  in  his  "  Précieuses 
ridicules."  But  the  "Alexandre  "  of  Racine  drew  back 
the  wavering  admirers  of  the  older  theatre.  After  its 
appearance  at  the  Hôtel  de  Bourgogne,  St.  Evremond  wrote, 
"  que  la  vieillesse  de  Corneille  ne  l'alarmait  plus,  et  qu'il 
n'appréhendait  plus  tant  de  voir  finir  la  tragédie  après  lui," 


128 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


though  when  "Andromache"  and  "Bajazet"  had  been 
represented  here  Mme  de  Se'vigné  wrote,  "  Racine  fait  des 
comédies  pour  la  Champmesle'^;  ce  n'est  pas  pour  les 
siècles  à  venir.  Vive  donc  notre  vieil  ami  Corneille  !  " 
In  1680  the  "Comédiens  italiens"  took  the  theatre  of  the 
Hôtel  de  Bourgogne,  where  they  obtained  a  great  success 


TOWER  OF  THE  HOTEL  DE  BOURGOGNE. 

for  seventeen  years,  but  were  suppressed  in  May,  1697,  for 
having  produced  a  piece  called  "  La  fausse  Prude,"  in 
which  Mme  de  Maintenon  fancied  herself  represented,  and 
thus  drew  upon  herself  a  qualification  not  originally 
intended  for  her.  The  Comédiens  Italiens  were  restored 
by  the  Régent  d'Orléans,  and  obtained   a  great  celebrity 

'  "La  plus  miraculeusement  bonne  comédienne." 


HOTEL   DE  BOURGOGNE  129 

through  the  performance  of  Riccoboni  and  Benozzi,  and 
the  plays  of  Marivaux  and  Delisle.  In  1723,  the  actors  of 
the  Hôtel  de  Bourgogne  were  called  "  Comédiens  ordi- 
naires du  Roi,"  and  their  title  was  inscribed  over  the  gate 
of  the  hôtel.  The  theatre  was  closed  and  pulled  down  in 
1783,  but  it  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  the  cradle  of 
the  Comédie  Française. 

Nothing  now  remains  of  the  ancient  buildings  of  the 
hôtel  except  the  great  square  tower,  built  by  Jean  sans 
Peur,  and  containing  a  winding  staircase  and  vaulted 
gothic  hall.  This  was  probably  the  chamber  which  the 
Duke  (who  by  no  means  deserved  his  surname)  built  after 
the  murder  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  "toute  de  pierre  de 
taille,  pour  sa  sûreté,  la  plus  forte  qu'il  put  et  terminée 
de  mâchicoulis,  où  toutes  les  nuits  il  couchoit." 

"  The  steps  of  the  staircase  turn  around  a  column  terminating 
in  a  very  simple  capital,  which  serves  as  a  support  to  a  round 
drum  of  stone,  encircled  by  three  double  rings,  from  which  spring 
the  vigorous  shoots  of  an  oak,  whose  branches  describe  four 
pointed  bays,  while  the  foliage  covers  luxuriantly  the  entire 
vault.  We  know  nothing  like  it  in  the  mediaeval  monuments  of 
Paris  ;  it  is  a  style  of  ornamentation  no  less  remarkable  for  its 
rarity  than  its  elegance.  In  the  pointed  tympanum  of  one  of  the 
exterior  bays  two  planes  and  a  plumb-line  are  sculptured  in  the 
middle  of  gothic  flowers.  The  Duke  Jean  sans  Peur  took  the 
planes  for  his  emblem,  in  opposition  to  the  knotty  clubs  chosen 
by  the  Duke  of  Orleans." — De  Guilhcrmy. 

Should  we  return  to  the  Rue  St.  Honoré  we  should  now 
reach  the  spot  where  Henri  IV.  was  assassinated  (beyond 
the  entrance  of  the  Rue  de  la  Tonnellerie),  May  14,  16 10, 
on  his  way  to  see  Sully  at  the  Arsenal.  The  Rue  St. 
Honoré  at  that  time  ceased  here  and  became  exceedingly 
narrow,  under  the  name  of  Rue  de  la  Ferronnerie.  The 
house  in  front  of  which  the  murder  took  place  (No.  6) 
was  marked  by  a  Maltese  cross  painted  red,  and  was  called 


I30 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


Maison  de  la  Croix  rouge.  It  was  a  false  tradition  which 
represented  the  event  as  having  occurred  opposite  a  house 
(now  destroyed — No.  3  Rue  St.  Honoré)  upon  which  a 
notary  named  Portrain,  to  honor  the  king's  memory, 
placed  his  bust  with  an  inscription,  now  in  the  Carnavalet 
Museum. 

"  Francis  Ravaillac  was  a  sort  of  visionary,  of  a  dark,  strange 
disposition,  and  a  sinister  look.  He  had  been  a  lawyer's  clerk,  a 
novice  in  the  convent  of  the  Feuillants  at  Paris,  than  a  school- 
master at  Angouleme,  his  native  city.  He  had  always  sought  the 
society  of  monks  and  priests  remarkable  for  their  bigotry  and 
violence.  .  .  .  He  hesitated  a  long  time  before  he  became 
fixed  on  the  horrible  idea  which  haunted  him.  He  came  from 
Angouleme  to  Paris  in  the  preceding  January  to  speak  to  the 
king.  He  had  had,  he  said,  revelations  from  Heaven  touching 
the  interests  of  religion  ;  he  wished  to  persuade  the  king  to  re- 
voke the  edict  of  Nantes,  but  his  evil  look  made  him  repulsed 
everywhere,  and  he  departed  without  being  able  to  approach  the 
king.  He  returned  to  Paris  at  the  end  of  April.  He  remained, 
from  early  morning,  near  the  gate  of  the  Louvre,  where  he  saw 
the  king's  carriage  pass  out.  He  followed  it.  In  turning  from 
the  Rue  St.  Honoré  into  the  Rue  de  la  Ferronnerie,  which  was 
then  very  narrow,  the  carriage  met  two  carts,  which  forced  it  to 
graze  the  stalls  that  stood  up  against  the  wall  of  the  Cemetery  des 
Innocents.  The  king's  small  suite  was  separated  from  him  by 
this  accident.  While  the  carts  were  being  made  to  back,  Francis 
Ravaillac  glided  between  the  stalls  and  the  carriage,  which  was 
quite  open,  and,  seeing  the  king  at  the  door  close  to  him,  he  put 
one  foot  on  a  stone-post,  the  other  on  one  of  the  wheels,  and 
struck  Henry  with  a  knife  between  the  ribs.  The  king  raised  his 
arm  and  cried,  '  I  am  wounded  !'  At  the  same  instant  a  second 
blow  pierced  his  heart.  Henry  did  not  speak  again  or  give  any 
sign  of  life. 

"  Ravaillac  remained  motionless,  without  attempting  to  escape, 
or  flinging  away  his  knife.  The  nobles  who  accompanied  the 
king  prevented  the  murderer  being  massacred  on  the  spot,  and 
had  him  arrested  and  placed  in  safe-keeping  ;  then,  closing  the 
windows  of  the  carriage,  they  cried  to  the  people  that  the  king 
was  only  wounded  and  returned  to  the  Louvre.  They  took  there 
only  a  corpse." — Henri  Martin,   ''Hist,  de  France,''  x.  568. 


SrS.    LEU  ET   GILLES  131 

Ancient  streets  in  this  district  which  have  vanished  of 
late  years  under  modern  improvements,  are  the  Rue  de  la 
Tixeranderie,  the  Rue  des  Mauvais  Garçons,  and  the  Rue 
St.  Faron  (where  the  abbots  of  St.  Faron  had  their  hotel), 
with  the  Place  Baudoyer,  a  name  which  recalled  the  re- 
volt of  the  Bagaudes  against  the  Roman  dominion,  and 
which  was  corrupted  from  that  of  the  neighboring  Porta 
Bagaudarum  to  Place  Baudéer,  Baudier,  Bauder,  Baudois, 
Baudoyer. 

The  next  opening,  left  of  the  Rue  St.  Honoré,  forming 
one  side  of  the  little  square  which  contains  the  Fontaine 
des  Innocents,  is  the  Rue  St.  Denis,  originally  important 
both  as  leading  to  the  tomb  of  St.  Denis  and  as  having 
the  privilege  of  the  royal  entries  into  the  capital  after  the 
coronations  at  Rheims. 

"The  Rue  St.  Denis  is  one  of  the  oldest  streets  in  Paris,  and 
is  said  to  have  been  first  marked  out  by  the  track  of  the  saint's 
footsteps,  when,  after  his  martyrdom,  he  walked  along  it,  with 
his  head  under  his  arm,  in  quest  of  a  burial-place.  This  legend 
may  account  for  any  crookedness  of  the  sti'eet,  for  it  could  not 
reasonably  be  asked  of  a  headless  man  that  he  should  walk 
straight.  " — Hawthorne,  '  'Note-Books  " 

Two  low  slated  spires  mark  the  picturesque  little  gothic 
church  of  Sts.  Leu  et  Gilles^ — of  which  the  houses  only 
allow  the  west  front  and  the  apse  to  be  seen — a  dependency 
of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Magloire.  The  church  dates  from 
1320,  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  central  portal,  the 
façade  is  of  1727,  when  the  spire  now  on  the  south  tower 
was  transported  thither  from  a  tower  falling  into  ruins  on 
the  north  side,  which  was  rebuilt.  The  side  aisles  are  of 
the  XVI.  c.  ;  but  the  choir  and  apse  were  rebuilt  in  1780. 
Beneath  these  is  a  crypt — the  Chapel   of  Calvary — con- 

1  St.  Loup,  the  famous  Bishop  of  Sens,  and  St.  Gilles,  the  hermit  of  Pro- 
vence. 


132 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


taining  beneath  the  altar  a  fine  dead  Christ  of  the  XV.  c. 
or  XVI.  c.  from  the  old  church  of  St.  Sepulchre.  The 
pictures  are  not  worth  much  notice,  except,  from  the  sub- 
ject, a  portrait  of  St.  François  de  Sales  (left  of  altar), 
executed  after  his  death  by  Philippe  de  Champaigne. 

"  In  the  first  chapel  to  the  south,  a  picture,  dated  1772,  repre- 
sents the  crime  and  the  punishment  of  a  soldier  who  was  burned 
in  1415  for  having  struck  with  his  sword  the  image  of  the  Virgin, 
placed  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  aux  Ours,  near  the  church  of  St. 
Leu.  The  image,  according  to  tradition,  shed  blood  in  abun- 
dance. To  preserve  the  memory  of  this  extraordinary  fact,  an 
annual  fête  was  still  celebrated  in  the  time  immediately  preceding 
the  Revolution.  A  lay  figure  representing  the  soldier  was  carried 
in  procession  through  the  town  for  three  days,  and  finally  given 
to  the  flames  in  the  Rue  aux  Ours,  in  the  midst  of  an  illumina- 
tion and  a  display  of  fireworks." — De  Guilhermy. 

To  the  right  of  the  choir  are  three  curious  XV.  c. 
marble  reliefs.  A  XVII.  c.  St.  Geneviève  once  stood 
near  the  shrine  of  the  saint.  The  church  formerly  con- 
tained the  tomb  of  Marie  Delandes,  wife  of  the  Président 
Chrétien  de  Lamoignon,  with  a  relief  representing  her 
being  secretly  buried  here  by  the  poor  she  had  succored, 
and  who  would  not  allow  her  to  be  taken  from  their  parish 
church  to  that  of  the  Récollets. 

Very  near  this  stood  at  a  very  early  period  the  Oratoire 
de  St.  Georges,  which  became  the  church  of  St.  Magloire 
when  the  body  of  that  Breton  saint  was  sent  hither  to  pre- 
serve it  from  the  Normans.  To  this  church  a  Benedictine 
abbey  was  attached,  afterwards  given  to  Les  Filles  Péni_ 
tentes.     The  very  large  church  dated  from  the  XII.  c. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Rue  St.  Denis,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Rue  Grande  et  Petite  Truanderie  and  Mondetour, 
was  the  Puits  d^Amotir,  where  a  girl  named  Agnes  Hellébie 
drowned  herself  because  of  her  lover's  treachery,  in  the 


RUE  DE    TRACY 


"^ZZ 


time  of  Philippe  Auguste.  Three  hundred  years  after,  a 
man  threw  himself  into  the  well  on  account  of  the  cruelty 
of  his  love,  who  repented  and  drew  him  up  by  a  cord, 
after  which  he  restored  the  well,  which  was  inscribed 
''L'amour  m'a  refait  en  1525,  tout-à-fait." 

This  is  one  of  the  poorest  parts  of  Paris,  and  the  Rue 
Maubuee,  one  of  the  cross  streets  in  descending  the  Rue  St. 
Denis,  is  pointed  out  as  the  Seven  Dials  of  Paris.  It  is 
a  curious  and  picturesque  old  winding  street.  Its  name, 
Maubuee — "  mauvaise  fumée  " — comes  from  its  being  the 
place  where  Jews  used  to  be  roasted  with  green  faggots,  to 
punish,  said  the  counsellor  De  l'Ancre,  "  Leur  anthropo- 
mace,  les  admirables  cruautés  dont  ils  ont  toujours  usé 
envers  les  chrétiens,  leur  forme  de  vie,  leur  synagogue 
déplaisante  à  Dieu,  leur  immondicité  et  puanteur." 

In  the  Rue  de  Tracy,  which  diverges  north  near  the  top 
of  the  Rue  St.  Denis,  a  Greek  building  is  the  chapel  of  the 
community  of  St.  Chaumont.  Behind  (east  of)  the  lower 
part  of  the  Rue  St.  Denis  runs  the  Rue  Qumcampoix.  This 
district  was  the  scene  of  the  speculations  of  Law  under 
the  Regency.  In  17 10  (November  2)  we  find  the  Duch- 
esse d'Orléans  writing  : — 

"The  Rue  Quincampoix  has  put  a  stop  to  gambling  in  Paris. 
It  is  a  real  madness  ;  I  am  tired  of  it  ;  nothing  else  is  talked 
about,  and  there  never  passes  a  day  that  I  do  not  receive  three  or 
four  letters  from  persons  who  ask  me  for  shares.  It  is  very  tire- 
some."— Correspondance  de  Afada?ne. 

Crossing  the  ugly  Boulevard  de  Sebastopol,  in  forming 
which  the  chapels  at  the  back  of  the  church  ofSts.  Leu  et 
Gilles  were  curtailed,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  Rue  de 
Rambuteau,  and  the  next  cross  street  is  the  Rue  St.  Mar- 
tin. Descending  towards  Rue  St.  Honoré  (at  No.  80)  we 
may  observe  a  relief  of  the  Annunciation.     At  the  corner 


134 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


of  the  Rue  de  la  Verrerie  is  the  church  of  St  Merri^  origi- 
nally built  in  the  IX.  c.  on  the  site  of  a  chapel  of  St. 
Pierre,  where  St.  Merri,  who  had  been  prior  of  the  monas- 
tery of  St.  Martin  at  Autun,  was  buried.  But  the  present 
church,  begun  under  François  I.,  was  only  finished  in  1612. 
The  great  gothic  portal,  with  two  smaller  portals  at  the 
sides,  is  very  rich  in  effect  ;  but  its  statues  are  only  mod- 
ern copies  from  those  at  the  south  transept  of  Notre  Dame  ; 
the  woodwork  is  of  the  time  of  the  construction.  The 
adjoining  tower  is  gothic  below,  renaissance  above,  with 
pilasters  of  the  XVII.  c.  This  is  the  tower  which  has 
given  the  war-note  of  many  revolutions,  and  whence  the 
"tocsin  de  St.  Merri,"  sounding  day  and  night,  has  sent 
a  thrill  through  thousands.  In  the  Revolution  of  June  5 
and  6,  1832,  the  church  was  long  and  obstinately  defended 
by  the  insurgents  against  the  royal  troops. 

The  interior  of  St.  Merri  has  two  side  aisles  on  the 
right,  and  only  one  on  the  left,  the  second  being  here  re- 
placed by  a  passage  through  the  chapels.  The  choir  has  a 
single  aisle  surrounded  by  thirteen  chapels.  In  spite  of 
classical  innovations  under  Louis  XIV.,  by  which  the  gothic 
architecture  has  been  mutilated,  the  vaulting,  the  rose- 
windows  at  the  sides,  and  fragments  of  XVI.  c.  glass  re- 
main to  be  admired.  The  sculpture  of  the  high-altar  is  by 
Dubois^  that  of  the  pulpit  by  Michel  Ange  Slodtz.  Under 
the  fifth  bay  of  the  left  aisle  a  staircase  leads  to  a  crypt, 
reconstructed  in  the  XVI.  c,  when  the  church  was  built, 
on  the  site  of  that  which  contained  the  tomb  of  St.  Merri. 
In  this,  which  was  his  parish  church,  Charles  V.  con- 
structed a  richly-carved  wooden  oratory  for  a  certain  Guil- 
lemette,  esteemed  a  saint,  who  never  left  that  place,  and 
might  be  seen  there  in  ecstacy.  All  the  Court  had  great 
faith  in  her  holiness,  and  recommended  themselves  to  her 


RUE  DE   MONTMORENCY  135 

prayers.^  Nothing  remains  of  the  tomb  of  Jean  Chapelain, 
author  of  "La  Pucelle,"  or  of  that  of  Arnaud  de  Pom- 
ponne, ambassador  and  minister  of  state  under  Louis  XIV. 
Reascending  the  Rue  St.  Martin,  we  may  see,  on  the 
right,  the  openings  of  the  Rue  Maubuce  and  Rue  de  Venise^ 
formerly  the  bankers'  quarter,  but  which  now,  with  their 
side  alleys,  may  be  looked  upon  as  perhaps  the  most  mis- 
erable part — the  St.  Giles's— of  Old  Paris.  On  the  right 
is  the  opening  of  the  Rue  de  Mofttmore?icy,  which  contains, 
marked  by  an  inscription,  the  house  of  the  philanthropist, 
Nicolas  Flamel,  partly  destroyed  in  1852. 

"The  great  gable  {grand pigno?i),  to  which  it  owed  its  name 
in  the  last  centuries,  no  longer  exists,  but  one  can  still  read,  in 
gothic  characters,  above  the  ground  floor,  the  inscription  which 
is  the  most  touching  part  of  its  history.  The  poor  '  laboring  men 
and  woinen  dwelling  iti  the  porch  of  this  house  ^  speak  in  it  of  the 
'  Pater  noster  and  the  Ave  Maiia,'  which  they  had  to  say  every  day 
for  the  departed,  and  thus  recall  the  hospitality  which  Flamel  gave 
them,  only  asking  this  prayer  in  return.  He  understood  the 
rights  of  property  as  we  understand  them  no  longer.  With  the  reve- 
nue derived  from  the  best  parts  of  each  of  his  houses,  which  were 
numerous  in  this  quarter,  he  lodged  in  the  other  stories,  and  sup- 
ported some  poor  people;  'and,'  says  Guillebert  de  Metz,  'he 
built  several  houses,  where  people  of  means  lived  in  the  lower 
stories,  and  from  the  rent  they  paid  poor  working  people  were 
maintained  in  the  upper  stories.'  " — Edouard  Eournier. 

"Nicolas  Flamel  founded  and  endowed  fourteen  hospitals. 
During  the  time  of  plague,  he  bought  deserted  houses,  provided 
they  seemed  large  enough,  and  changed  them  into  hospitals.  The 
plague  ceased,  the  hospitals  remained.  He  rebuilt  three  chapels, 
he  left  annuities  to  seven  churches,  among  others  to  St.  Geneviève 
des  Ardens.  He  repaired  three  cemeteries,  including  that  of  the 
Innocents." — Edouard  Plouvier,  "  Paris  Guide." 

The  house  in  the  Rue  de  Montmorency,  opposite  the 
entrance  to  the  Passage  des  Panorames,  was  that  of  Des- 
marest,  Minister  of  Finance. 

'  Viollet-le-Duc,  viii.  5. 


T36  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Far  up  the  Rue  St.  Martin,  on  the  right,  is  the  church 

of  St.  Nicolas  des  Champs,^  founded  in  the  open  country — 

"  porro  ante  Parisiacae  urbis  portam  " — and  dedicated  in 

1067,  though  chiefly  dating,  as  it  is  now,  in  its  west  part 

from  1420,  in  its  east  from  1576,  the  change  from  gothic  to 

renaissance  having  a  striking  effect  in  the  interior.     There 

is  a  beautiful  west  porch  of  the  earher  date.     The  church 

is  a  parallelogram,  with  two  ranges  of  aisles,  bordered  by  a 

succession  of  chapels.     The   high-altar  was  designed  by 

Mansart.     The  tombs   included   those   of  Pierre  de  Mor- 

villier,  Chancellor  of  France,  and  his  parents,  Philippe  de 

Morvillier  and  Jeanne   de    Drac,  who  founded   (1426)   a 

chapel  here  to  St.  Nicholas,  on  quaint  conditions  attached 

to  one  of  its  pillars,  long  carefully  observed. 

"  Every  year,  at  the  eve  of  St.  Martin,  in  the  winter,  the  afore- 
said religious  persons,  by  their  mayor  and  one  of  their  body, 
must  give  to  the  first  president  of  the  parliament  two  caps  with 
ear  flaps,  one  double,  the  other  single,  saying  the  while  certain 
words,  and  to  the  first  usher  of  the  parliament  a  glove  and  writing 
utensils,  saying  certain  words." 

Other  persons  buried  here  were  the  learned  Guillaume 
Budé,  1540  ;  the  philosopher  Pierre  Gassendi  ;  the  broth- 
ers Henri  and  Adrien  de  Valois,  known  by  their  historic 
works  ;  and  the  celebrated  Mile  de  Scudéry.  In  one  of 
the  chapels  is  an  altar-piece  representing  St.  Martin  curing 
a  leper  by  embracing  him,  and  an  inscription  tells  that  the 
spot  where  this  miracle  was  performed  was  close  to  St. 
Nicolas  des  Champs. 

Close  by  (at  No.  292)  a  handsome  gateway  forms  the 
entrance  to  the  courtyard  of  the  Co7iservatoire  des  Arts  et 
Métiers  (open  daily  from  10  to  4),  which  has  a  fine  stair- 
case by  Antoine,  1786,  and  two    floors  of  galleries  filled 

*  One  of  three  churches  in  Paris  dedicated  to  this  most  popular  saint,  the 
others  being  St.  Nicolas  du  Louvre  and  St.  Nicolas  du  Chardonnet. 


ST.    MARTIN  DES   CHAMPS 


137 


with  models  of  machinery,  freely  open  to  the  public,  and 
very  interesting  to  scientific  students. 

The  Conservatoire  occupies  the  buildings  which  be- 
longed to  the  priory  of  St.  Martin  des  Champs,  founded  by 
Henri  I.  in  1060.  It  was  only  enclosed  within  the  limits 
of  the  town  on  the  construction  of  its  fourth  ramparts  in 
the  beginning  of  the  XIV.  c.  Hence  its  strong  walls  and 
towers,  of  which  a  specimen  is  to  be  seen  in  this  street 
near  the  Fontaine  du  Vert  Bois.  The  priory  of  St.  Martin 
was  given  to  Cluny  by  Philippe  I.  in  1067,  and  bore  the 
title  of  second  daughter  of  that  famous  abbey.  At  the 
Revolution,  the  monastery  was  at  first  converted  into  a 
manufactory  of  arms,  but  was  appropriated  to  its  present 
use  in  1798.  Of  all  the  ancient  religious  establishments  of 
Paris  this  is  the  one  which  has  most  preserved  the  charac- 
teristics of  a  monastery,  retaining  portions  of  its  outer  walls, 
its  church,  a  cloister,  the  refectory,  and  the  buildings  which 
were  inhabited  by  the  monks.  The  monks  themselves  un- 
fortunately destroyed  the  old  chapter  house,  the  tower  of 
the  archives,  and  chapel  of  the  Virgin,  as  well  as  the  old 
cloister,  which  contained  statues  of  Henri  L,  Philippe  L, 
and  Louis  VI.,  and  which  Piganiol  de  la  Force  described 
as  unequalled  in  Paris  for  its  size  and  the  number  of  its 
columns. 

The  Refectory^  now  used  as  a  library,  is  wrongly  attrib- 
uted to  Pierre  de  Montereau,  who  was  a  child  when  it 
was  completed.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  masterpiece  of  XIII. 
c.  architecture.  Its  two  ranges  of  vaults  are  divided  by 
slender  stone  pillars,  and  lighted  at  the  ends  by  beautiful 
rose-windows.  The  rich  gothic  portal  on  the  south  led  to 
the  first  cloister,  facing  the  lavabo. 

"The  builder  of  the  work  having  skilfully  thrown  on  the 
walls   and    external    buttresses,   the  chief  weight   of  the  vaults, 


138  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

found  himself  able  to  reduce  at  pleasure  the  size  of  his  middle 
columns  on  which  only  the  vertical  pressure  acted.  Our  readers 
will  admire,  on  the  spot,  the  noble  character  of  this  architecture, 
the  marvellous  execution  of  the  capitals,  the  consoles,  the  key- 
stones of  the  vaults,  the  foliated  tracery  of  the  roses  which  are 
pierced  above  the  windows." — De  Guilhermy. 

At  the  side  of  the  hall  the  reader's  graceful  pulpit  re- 
mains, and  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  refectory  pulpits 
in  existence. 

"Worthy  of  remark  is  the  ingenious  disposition  of  the  stair- 
case, worked  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall  ;  on  the  interior  side  it 
is  only  closed  in  by  open  work  ;  but  to  prevent  the  pressure  of 
the  wall  above  from  crushing  this  open  work,  the  builder  has 
placed  a  relieving  arch  to  take  off  the  weight,  and  to  meet  the 
thrust  of  this  arch  the  lower  jambs  of  the  open  work  are  sloped 
as  to  oppose  a  buttress  to  this  thrust.  To-day  we  should  de- 
mand the  employment  of  artifice  to  obtain  the  result  of  a  buttress 
without  rendering  it  apparent  ;  at  the  beginning  of  XIII.  century 
they  used  no  subterfuges." — Viollet-le-Duc 

Of  the  old  priory  Church,  the  single  nave,  with  a 
wooden  roof,  was  rebuilt  in  the  XIII.  c.  ;  but  its  choir 
and  radiating  chapels  are  of  the  XI.  c,  and  the  earliest 
examples  of  gothic  architecture  in  Paris,  though  their 
vaultings  were  renewed  in  the  XII.  c. 

"The  plan  presents  one  peculiarity — a  large  bay  pierced  in 
the  axis  of  the  choir,  and  a  grand  central  chapel.  The  disposi- 
tion of  the  chapels  seems  to  be  that  common  in  abbey  churches. 
The  chapels  have  large  openings  to  the  aisles,  are  shallow  and  in 
communication  with  each  other  by  a  sort  of  narrow  aisle,  which 
produces  a  grand  effect.  ...  In  the  coupled  capitals  of  the 
choir,  where  the  sculpture  rises  to  the  height  of  perfect  art, 
Byzantine  elements  are  found.  This  sculpture  reminds  us  of 
that  of  the  ivory  diptychs  and  plaques,  or  of  Byzantine  metal 
work.  The  feeling  of  the  composition  is  grand,  clear,  and  re- 
strained.—  Viollet-le-Duc. 

In  recent  restorations  a  tourelle  has  been  constructed 
on  the  right  of  the  entrance,  to  match  an  original  tourelle 


HÔTEL   DE   ST.    A  ION  AN 


139 


on  the  left  :  these  turrets  are  hexagonal,  with  gothic  orna- 
ments, and  pointed  roofs.  The  church  is  now  occupied 
by  a  Museum  of  Hydraulic  Machinery. 

Crossing  into  the  Rue  du  Temple  and  turning  south,  on 
the  left  is  the  Rue  St.  Avoye^  which  commemorates  St. 
Hedwige,  daughter  of  Berthold,  Duke  of  Carinthia.  In 
this  dirty  street  lived  and  worked  the  famous  portrait- 
painter  Largilliere — "  le  peintre  des  éclatants  velours." 
At  No.  7 1  Rue  du  Temple,  near  the  angle  of  the  Rue  de 


HOTEL   ST.    AIGNAN. 


Rambuteau,  is  the  Hbtcl  de  St.  Aigiiafi^  built  by  Pierre 
Lemuet  for  M.  de  Mesmes,  Comte  d'Avaux,  a  celebrated 
diplomatist  of  the  XVII.  c.  It  afterwards  belonged  to  the 
Due  de  St.  Aignan,  "  chef  du  conseil  royal  des  finances  " 
under  Louis  XIV.  The  stately  entrance,  which  retains  its 
magnificently  carved  doors,  leads  to  a  court  surrounded 
by  arcades,  and  the  same  engaged  corinthian  pilasters, 
reaching  the  whole  height  of  the  building,  which  we  shall 


140 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


see  again  at  the  Hôtel  de  Lamoignon.     The  Hôtel  de  St. 
Aignan  is  now  used  for  warehouses. 

Almost  opposite  this  the  Rue  Rambuteau  has  cut 
through  the  Hôtel  de  Mesmes,  where  the  famous  Con- 
stable, Anne  de  Montmorency,  died  of  the  wounds  he  had 
received  at  the  battle  of  St.  Denis,  November  12,  1567. 


DOOR-PANEL,  HOTEL   ST.    AIGNAN. 

He  was  so  ignorant  that  he  could  not  read  ;  but  he  had 
served  five  kings,  had  fought  in  eight  great  battles,  and 
had  been  employed  in  ten  treaties  of  peace.  At  the  age 
of  seventy-four  he  had  given  so  violent  a  blow  to  Robert 
Stuart,  who  called  upon  him  to  surrender,  that  he  had 
hurled  him  from  his  horse  and  broken  two  of  his  teeth.^ 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Rue  du  Temple,  the  Rue  de 
Braque  leads  to  an  ancient  and  picturesque  gateway, 
which  is  the   only    remaining  remnant   of   the   Hotel  de 

^  M, 'moires  de  Castelnau, 


HOTEL   DE    CLISSON 


141 


Clisson^  built  by  the  famous  Constable,  friend  and  com- 
panion inarms  of  Duguesclin,  in  137 1.  It  was  called  at 
first  Hôtel  de  la  Miséricorde,  because  of  the  pardon 
Clisson  obtained  from  Charles  V.  for  the  Parisians,  when 
they  came  crying  "  Miséricorde  !  "  here  under  his  windows. 


GATE   OF  THE   HOTEL  DE   CLISSON. 

In  the  XVI.  c.  this  hotel  occupied,  with  the  Hôtels 
Roche-Guyon  and  Laval,  a  vast  quadrangular  space, 
bounded  by  the  Hôtel  de  Rohan,  the  Rue  de  Quatre, 
Rue  Chaume,  and  Rue  de  Paradis.  The  Ducs  de 
Guise  became  the  proprietors  of  these  hotels  in  1550,  and 
François  de  Lorraine,  the  Due  de  Guise  murdered  by  a 
Protestant  fanatic  near  Orleans,  pulled  them  down  and 


142  IVALKS  W  PARIS 

built  a  vast  Hôtel  de  Guise,  on  their  site.  This  famous 
mansion  became  the  cradle  of  the  Ligue,  and  from  hence 
the  order  was  issued  for  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
It  was  also  from  one  of  the  windows  of  this  palace  that 
Henri  de  Guise  — "  le  Balafré  " — hurled  the  handsome 
Comte  de  St.  Megrim,  whom  he  discovered  in  the 
chamber  of  his  wife,  Catherine  de  Cléves,  and  whom  he 
caused  to  be  assassinated,  a  few  days  after,  in  the  Rue  St. 
Honoré,  as  he  was  leaving  the  Louvre.  Hither  Henri  HI. 
sent  to  implore  the  Due  de  Guise  to  still  a  revolution,  and 
hence  he  issued  an  order  which  was  productive  of  instant 
calm,  after  which  the  people  cried  so  constantly  "Vive 
Guise  !  vive  Guise  !  "  that  at  length  their  idol  thought  it 
needful  to  say,  "  C'est  assez,  messieurs  ;  c'est  trop  ;  criez 
un  peu  *  Vive  le  roi  !  '  "  This  triumph  was  too  great  for  a 
subject.     In  the  words  of  Voltaire, — 

"  Guise  en  ces  grands  desseins  dès  ce  jour  affermi, 
Vit  qu'il  n'était  plus  temps  d'offenser  à  demi, 
Et  qu'élevé  si  haut,  mais  sur  un  précipice. 
S'il  ne  montait  au  trône,  il  montait  au  supplice," 

and  he  had  reached  the  verge  of  a  rebellion  against  his 
sovereign,  which  would  probably  have  been  successful, 
when  he  was  assassinated  by  the  king's  order  at  Blois. 

In  1700  the  hotel  once  more  changed  its  name,  being 
bought  by  Mme  de  Soubise,  "  que  le  roi  aida  fort  à  payer," 
says  St.  Simon,  for  at  that  time  she  was  the  favorite  of 
the  moment  with  Louis  XIV.  The  king  made  her  hus- 
band, François  de  Rohan,  a  prince,  a  favor  which  he 
appreciated  at  its  proper  value  when  he  answered  con- 
gratulations with  "  Hélas  !  cela  me  vient  par  ma  femme  ; 
je  n'en  dois  pas  recevoir  de  compliment."  M.  de  Sou- 
bise,  however,  devoted  himself  to  the  embellishment  of 
his  hotel  ;  he  pulled  down  the  Hôtel  de  Laval  and  built  a 


LES  ARCHIVES  NATIONALES  143 

grand  court  of  honor,  surrounded  by  arcades  in  the  form 
of  a  horseshoe.  This  court  still  exists,  with  an  entrance 
of  which  the  tympanum  is  adorned  by  an  allegorical  figure 
of  History,  from  a  design  of  Eugène  Delacrois.  The  next 
Prince  de  Soubise  rendered  the  hotel  famous  by  the  mag- 
nificence of  his  fetes  ;  his  social  qualities  made  him  ex- 
ceptionally popular,  and  his  misfortunes  as  a  general 
failed  to  alienate  the  goodwill  of  Louis  XV.,  a  leniency 
which  he  repaid  by  being  the  one  faithful  friend  who 
accompanied  the  king's  corpse  to  St.  Denis. 

The  Hôtel  de  Soubise  is  now  occupied  by  the  Archives 
Natiofiales.  The  principal  façade  was  reconstructed  by 
Lemaire  (1706),  and  has  a  noble  portico  surrounding  a 
semicircular  garden.  The  hotel  has  been  so  much  added 
to  and  altered  internally  that  it  possesses  little  of  its 
ancient  decorations  except  the  woodwork  of  the  oval 
saloon,  and  the  paintings  in  that  room  and  over  the  doors 
of  several  other  apartments,  by  Boucher,  Carl  Vanloo,  &c. 
It  retains,  however,  its  beautiful  chapel  (seldom  shown), 
painted  by  Niccolo  del  Abbate,  and  the  gallery  in  which 
the  Due  de  Guise  was  walking  and  meditating  upon  the 
possible  death  of  Henri  III.,  when  he  said,  looking  at  the 
frescoes  on  the  walls,  "Je  regarde  toujours  avec  plaisir 
Duguesclin  ;  il  eut  la  gloire  de  de'trôner  un  tyran."  "  Oui 
certes,"  the  gentleman  to  whom  he  spoke^  had  the  courage 
to  answer,  "  mais  ce  tyran  n'était  pas  son  roi  ;  c'était 
l'ennemi  de  son  pays." 

The  Museum  of  the  Archives  (open  to  the  public  on 
Sundays  only,  from  12  to  3)  is  exceedingly  interesting. 
A  vast  number  of  curious  documents  are  displayed  and 
well  seen  in  glass  cases,  beginning  with  the  diplomas  of 

^  He  was  the  son  of  Jean  le  Seneschal,  who  threw  himself  in  the  way  to 
save  the  life  of  François  I.  in  the  battle  of  Pavia,  and  was  killed  in  his  place. 


144  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  Merovingian,  Carlovingian,  and  Capetian  kings,  and 
continuing  through  the  reigns  of  the  Valois  and  Bourbon 
sovereigns  to  the  Republic,  Consulate,  and  Empire.  Of 
special  interest  are  the  papers  relating  to  the  trial  of 
Jeanne  Dare.  A  very  curious  picture  —  J>^//i-  religionis — 
shows  all  the  faithful  of  different  centuries  in  an  ark, 
attacked  by  devils,  and  boats  manned  by  apostates,  evil- 
thinkers,  &c.  The  Musée  Sigillographiqiie  displays  a  col- 
lection of  seals  from  the  time  of  Childeric  I.  (457). 

Ascending  the  noble  staircase,  which  has  a  painted 
ceiling,  we  find  several  rooms  devoted  to  the  later  Ar- 
chives of  French  History.  In  the  beautifully-decorated 
Salle  des  Bourbons  are  letters  of  d'Aguesseau,  d'Antin, 
Dubois,  the  Due  de  Maine,  Due  de  Richelieu,  Marshal 
Saxe,  Maupeou,  Voltaire,  Crebillon,  Due  de  Choiseul, 
Cardinal  de  Bernis,  Buiïon,  Turgot,  Mesdames  Louise, 
Sophie,  and  Victoire,  Princesse  de  Lamballe  (with  beauti- 
ful handwriting),  de  Montmorin,  Bailly,  de  Lamoignon, 
Due  d'Orléans,  Montgolfier,  Florian,  &c.  Here  also  are 
the  Procès  of  Damiens,  the  Letters  of  St.  Simon  about 
the  prerogatives  of  dukes,  the  Will  of  Marie  Leczinska, 
&c.  Inside  the  railing  of  the  ruelle  which  contained  the 
bed,  are  the  greatest  treasures.  The  volumes  of  the 
Journal  of  Louis  XVI.  ;  his  autograph  Will  executed  in 
the  Temple  ;  the  procès-verbal  for  his  burial  j  and  the  last 
touching  letter  of  Marie  Antoinette  to  Madame  Elizabeth 
(written  in  the  Conciergerie,  October  10,  1793). 

In  the  next  room,  with  letters  of  Barnave,  Mirabeau, 
Necker,  &c.,  are  the  Declaration  concerning  the  Etats  Na- 
tionaux, June  23,  1789  ;  the  Oath  of  Louis  XVI.  accepting 
the  constitution,  September  14,  1791  ;  and  some  playing 
cards  inscribed  at  the  back  by  Louis  XVI.  with  the  names 
of  all  the  persons  to  be  admitted  to  his  intimate  circle. 


STS.  JEAN  ET  FRANÇOIS  145 

In  the  Salle  du  Consulat^  which  has  many  letters  in  the 
admirable  hand  of  Napoleon  I.,  is  a  table  from  the  cabinet 
of  Louis  XVL,  which  was  taken  to  the  Comité  de  Salut 
public  at  the  Tuileries,  and  on  which  the  wounded  Robes- 
pierre was  laid  when  he  was  brought  from  the  Hôtel  de 
Ville. 

The  Rue  des  Archives  was  formerly  divided  between 
the  Rue  du  Grand  Chantier  and  Rue  des  Enfants 
Rouges. 

Behind  the  Musée,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  Chariot, 
is  the  Church  of  St.  Jean  and  St.  François ^  founded  1623, 
to  serve  a  Capuchin  convent.  It  contains  two  beautiful 
statues — St.  Denis,  by  Jacques  Sarrazi?t,  and  St.  François 
d'Assise,  by  Germain  Filon,  ordered  by  Anne  of  Austria 
for  the  abbey  of  Montmartre. 

A  little  south  of  the  Musée  des  Archives,  by  the  Rue 
de  l'Homme  Armée,  is  the  Rue  des  Fillettes.  To  expiate 
the  crime  of  the  Jew  Jonathas,  who  was  burnt  alive  in 
1290,  for  piercing  the  Host  with  a  penknife,  a  chapel  was 
built  here,  to  which  Philippe  le  Bel  annexed  a  monastery 
of  the  Hospitallers  of  la  Charité  de  Notre  Dame.  These 
were  suppressed  and  their  convent  ceded  to  the  Carmel- 
ites, in  163 1.  Sold  in  1793,  the  convent  was  repurchased 
in  1808,  and  its  church  given  to  Lutheran  worship.  It 
will  be  found  on  the  left  of  the  Rue  des  Billettes  in  de- 
scending to  the  Rue  St.  Antoine.  The  door  to  the  left  of 
the  church  portal  is  the  entrance  to  a  beautiful  little 
Cloister  of  the  end  of  the  XV.  c,  unique  in  Paris,  and 
little  known  there. 

Further  up  the  Rue  du  Temple,  the  Rue  de  Gravilliers 
(on  left)  has  a  house  (No.  69)  of  the  time  of  Henri  III., 
perhaps  built  by  a  relation  of  Gabrielle  d'Estrées,  to  whom 
it  is  attributed.     During  the  Revolution  this   street  was 


146  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

considered  to  be  a  patriot  centre  ;  at  No.  38,  the  accom- 
plices of  Georges  Cadoudal  were  arrested. 

In  the  Rue  du  Temple,  we  now  come  (right)  to  a 
garden-square  with  fountains.  This  is  all  that  remains  to 
mark  the  site  of  the  Tetnple,  with  which  the  saddest  asso- 
ciations of  Paris  are  connected,  and  which  gave  its  name 
to  the  street  called  Rue  de  la  Milice  du  Temple  in  1235, 
and  Rue  de  la  Chevalerie  du  Temple  in  1252. 

The  Temple  was  a  moated  citadel,  surrounded  by 
battlemented  walls,  with  round  towers  at  intervals.  Thus 
it  continued  for  500  years.  It  was  only  finally  destroyed 
in  1820.  The  Rues  du  Temple,  de  Vendôme,  de  Chariot, 
and  de  la  Corderie,  now  cover  the  greater  part  of  its  en- 
closure ;  the  Marché  du  Temple  and  the  adjoining  square 
only  represent  the  space  around  the  central  donjon. 

The  Maison  du  Temple  is  mentioned  in  a  charter  of 
Bishop  Eudes,  of  1205  ;  the  Commanderie  du  Temple  in  a 
charter  of  12 11.  The  already  fortified  Temple  was  not 
enclosed  in  the  walls  of  Philippe  Auguste  (1185).  Henry 
III.  of  England  made  it  his  residence  for  eight  days  in 
1254,  when  he  came  to  Paris  to  visit  St.  Louis,  and  adore 
his  collection  of  relics.  Under  Philippe  le  Hardi,  the 
Grand  Priors  of  the  Templars  began  to  have  disputes  with 
the  kings  of  France;  and  under  Philippe  le  Bel  their 
cupidity  and  their  vast  wealth  became  fatal  to  them.  The 
king  beheld  the  great  riches  of  Jacques  de  Molay  whilst 
he  was  receiving  his  protecting  hospitality  during  an  insur- 
rection in  Paris.  Soon  afterwards  (October  13,  1307), 
the  Grand  Master  was  arrested  in  the  Temple,  with  140 
knights  who  had  come  thither  to  attend  a  chapter  of  the 
Order.  Torture  wrung  from  some  of  the  number  a  confes- 
sion, true  or  false,  of  the  many  accusations  brought  against 
them,  but  they  all  died   protesting   their   innocence,  the 


THE    TEMPLE 


147 


Grand  Prior  and  the  Commanders  of  Aquitaine  and  Nor- 
mandy being  the  last  to  suffer  (March  12,  1311).  The  Or- 
der was  abolished  by  Clement  V.  in  1313,  and  its  riches  be- 
stowed upon  that  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  but  Philippe  had 
already  seized  upon  all  the  riches  of  the  Templars  in  Paris. 
The  Knights  of  St.  John  had  become  Knights  of 
Rhodes,  when  their  Grand  Master  Foulque  de  Villant  con- 
quered the  infidels  in  Rhodes  in  1307,  but  henceforth,  in 
Paris,  they  always  bore  the  name  of  Chevaliers  du  Temple. 
Under  their  rule,  the  Temple  remained  for  200  years  much 
as  the  Templars  had  left  it — crowned  with  towers,  de- 
fended by  a  moat,  and  for  some  time  lookmg  down  upon 
vast  open  lands — marais^  cultures  and  courtilles^  though  a 
great  part  of  these  were  built  over  when  a  new  circuit  of 
walls  was  begun  under  Jean  in  1356,  and  finished  under 
Charles  V.,  in  1380.  A  vast  open  space  within  the  walls 
of  the  fortress  remained  unenclosed  till  Henri  IV.  planned 
the  Place  de  France,  and  when  his  death  cut  short  his  de- 
sign, new  streets  were  erected,  bearing  names  of  provinces 
and  chief  towns  of  France.  Within  the  walls  (which  con- 
tinued to  be  entered  by  a  single  gate,  between  two  great 
towers  opposite  the  Rue  des  Fontaines^),  many  of  the  old 
buildings  were  pulled  down  by  the  Hospitallers.  Thus,  in 
the  XVII.  c,  there  only  remained  the  square  Tour  de 
César,  destroyed  in  1816;  the  old  Chapel  of  the  first 
Templars,  destroyed  1650;  the  hospital,  the  cloister,  the 
great  church  with  its  tombs  of  Grand  Masters  ^  and  hand- 
some campanile  ;  and,  above  all,  the  Tour  du  Temple,  a 
massive  square  building,  with  a  dry  moat,  and  round 
tourelles  at  each  angle. 

»  Which  contained  the  Convent  of  St.  Elizabeth,  and  that  of  La  Madeleine, 
known,  during  the  Revolution,  as  the  Prison  of  Les  Madelonnettes. 

-  It  contained  many  relics,  supposed  to  include  the  head  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  also  claimed  by  the  Cathedral  of  Amiens. 


1^8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  accommodation  in  the  tower  consisted  of  four  sto- 
ries, of  a  single  room,  in  which  a  central  pillar  supported 
the  arched  vaulting  of  the  roof.  One  of  the  tourelles  was 
a  staircase,  the  others  contained  little  chambers  communi- 
cating with  the  central  one. 

"  The  Tower  of  the  Temple  dated  from  the  end  of  the  XIII. 
c.  and  was  finished  in  1306,  a  little  before  the  dissolution  of  the 
order.  This  tower  was  square  in  plan,  with  turrets  at  the  four 
corners  rising  from  the  ground.  It  served  as  a  muniment  room, 
treasury  and  prison,  like  most  of  the  donjons  belonging  to  the 
establishments  of  the  Knights  of  the  Temple.  The  building  was 
destroyed  in  1805." — Viollet-le-Duc,  ix.  169. 

Up  to  the  end  of  the  XVII.  c,  the  Temple  continued 
to  be  almost  in  the  country.  Mme  de  Coulanges,  living 
within  its  precincts,  writes  to  Mme  de  Sévigné  of  the  un- 
interrupted view  of  the  country  prolonging  her  garden  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

From  the  time  of  the  Templars  the  Tour  du  Temple 
had  been  occasionally  used  as  a  state  prison.  The  Grand 
Priors  had  long  ceased  to  live  in  it,  and  in  the  XVII.  c. 
they  built  a  hotel  for  themselves,  with  a  handsome  entrance 
upon  the  Rue  du  Temple.  Part  of  this  hotel  still  existed 
in  1789.  It  had  been  enlarged  by  the  Chevalier  d'Or- 
léans, and  adorned  with  paintings  by  Nattier  and  Raoux. 
Its  little  garden,  exacdy  marked  out  by  the  present  square, 
contained  one  of  the  finest  and  oldest  chestnut-trees  in 
France.  A  number  of  smaller  hotels  collected  round 
that  of  the  Grand  Prieur,  where  many  aristocratic  families 
settled.  The  Hôtel  de  Boisboudrand  was  inhabited  by  the 
Abbé  de  Chaulieu,  called  by  Voltaire  "l'Anacréon  du 
Temple  ;"  Rousseau  lived  in  1770  at  the  Hôtel  de  Guise, 
where  Mile  de  Guise  was  born  and  whither  she  returned 
to  live  and  die  in  her  birthplace,  soon  after  her  marriage 
with  the  Maréchal   Duc  de  Richelieu  :   in  the  Hôtel  de 


THE    TEMPLE 


149 


Boufflers  lived  the  charming  Marquise  de  Boufflers,  to  be 
near  her  friend  the  Grand  Prior,  Louis  Franc^ois  de 
Bourbon-Conti.  Tiie  freedom  of  taxes  which  was  en- 
joyed there  made  a  great  number  of  artisans  settle  within 
the  Temple  walls,  whilst  the  right  of  sanctuary  brought 
thither  a  number  of  debtors,  who  supported  themselves  by 
trades  which  were  prohibited  in  Paris  itself,  especially  the 
manufacture  of  false  jewelry — "  bijoux  du  Temple." 

From  the  XVI.  c,  the  office  of  Grand  Prior  and  the 
Commanderie  of  the  Temple  was  the  richest  appanage  of 
the  bastards  of  the  royal  family.  Henri  d'Angouleme, 
son  of  Henri  II.  by  a  Scotch  lady,  held  it  from  1507  to 
1586  ;  Charles  de  Valois,  Duc  d'Angouleme,  son  of 
Charles  IX.  and  the  Dame  de  Belleville,  succeeded  ; 
Alexandre  de  Vendôme,  son  of  Henri  IV  and  the  Duch- 
ess of  Beaufort,  was  instituted  in  1604,  at  six  years  old, 
in  the  church  of  the  Temple — "lieu  propre  et  de  tout 
temps  aiïecté  aux  bâtards."  ^  In  1678  the  office  was  ob- 
tained by  the  brilliant  Philippe  de  Vendôme  (great-grand- 
son of  Henri  IV.  and  Gabrielle  d'Estrees),  who,  under  the 
Regency,  instituted  the  "  Soupers  du  Temple,"  famous  for 
their  wit.  In  17 19  he  resigned  the  office  of  Grand  Prieur 
(continuing  to  be  Prieur  de  Vendôme)  to  Jean  Philippe 
d'Orléans,  son  of  the  Regent,  by  Mile  de  Sery,  Comtesse 
d'Argenton.  The  last  two  Grand  Priors  were  not  bastards, 
but  Princes  of  the  Blood — Louis  François  de  Bourbon, 
Prince  de  Conti  (ob.  1776)  and  Louis  Antoine  de  Bour- 
bon, Duc  d'Angouleme,  son  of  the  Comte  d'Artois.  The 
latter  was  in  his  cradle  when  he  succeeded  and  did  not 
keep  the  office  till  his  majority,  as  the  Order  of  Malta 
was  suppressed,  with  all  the  religious  Orders,  June  10, 
1790. 

*  Pierre  de  I'Estoile. 


150 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


In  August,  1793,  in  answer  to  the  demand  of  the 
Commune  to  the  Assembly,  Louis  XVI .  and  his  family 
were  brought  as  prisoners  to  the  Temple. 

"  Overwhelmed  with  grief,  the  Royal  Family  arrived  at  the 
Temple,  and  Santerre  was  the  first  person  who  presented  himself 
in  the  court  where  they  alighted.  He  made  a  sign  to  the  munic- 
ipal officers,  which  at  the  time  I  could  not  explain.  After  I  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  locality  of  the  Temple,  I  concluded 
that  the  object  of  the  signal  was  to  conduct  the  king,  at  the  mo- 
ment he  arrived,  to  the  tower.  A  movement  of  the  head  on  the 
part  of  the  municipal  officers  announced  that  it  was  not  yet 
time. 

"  The  royal  family  was  introduced  into  the  part  of  the  build- 
ings which  was  called  the  palace,  the  ordinary  lodging  of  Mon- 
seigneur, the  Duke  d'Artois,  when  he  came  to  Paris.  The  mu- 
nicipal officers  remained  near  the  king,  with  their  hats  on,  and 
gave  him  no  other  title  than  Monsieur,  A  man  with  a  long 
beard,  whom  at  first  I  took  to  be  a  Jew,  took  every  opportunity  to 
repeat  the  word. 

"The  king,  entertaining  the  persuasion,  that  henceforth  the 
palace  of  the  Temple  was  to  be  his  abode,  wished  to  see  the 
apartments.  While  the  municipals  felt  a  cruel  pleasure  in  the 
king's  mistake  with  the  expectation  of  better  enjoying  his  sur- 
prise afterwards,  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  distribute  in  ad- 
vance the  various  suites  of  rooms. 

"The  interior  of  the  Temple  was  already  furnished  with  nu- 
merous sentinels,  and  the  watch  was  so  strict  that  one  could  not 
take  a  step  without  being  stopped.  In  the  midst  of  this  throng 
of  keepers,  the  king  exhibited  a  calmness  which  depicted  the 
ease  of  his  conscience. 

"  At  ten  o'clock,  supper  was  served.  During  the  repast, 
which  was  short,  Manuel  stood  by  the  king's  side.  Supper  over, 
the  royal  family  returned  to  the  salon.  From  that  moment,  Louis 
XVI.  Avas  abandoned  to  that  factious  commune  which  set  over 
him  guards,  or  rather  jailers,  to  whom  it  gave  the  title  of  commis- 
sioners. On  entering  the  Temple,  the  municipals  had  warned 
the  persons  on  duty  that  the  ro)^al  family  would  not  sleep  in  the 
palace,  but  would  occupy  it  only  in  daytime  ;  so  we  were  not 
surprised  to  hear,  about  eleven  o'clock,  one  of  the  commissioners 
give  us  the  order  to  take  the  little  baggage  and  few  clothes  we 
had  been  able  to  procure,  and  follow  him. 


TUE    TEMPLE  151 

"A  municipal,  bearing  a  lantern,  went  before  us.  By  the 
feeble  light  it  shed,  I  sought  to  discover  the  place  destined  to  the 
royal  family.  We  stopped  at  the  foot  of  a  mass  of  building 
which  the  shades  of  night  made  me  believe  a  large  one.  Without 
being  able  to  distinguish  anything,  I  nevertheless  saw  a  difference 
between  the  form  of  this  edifice  and  the  palace  we  had  left.  The 
front  of  the  roof,  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  surmounted  by 
spires  that  I  took  for  clock  towers,  was  crowned  with  battle- 
ments, on  which  some  lamps  were  burning  at  intervals.  In  spite 
of  light  they  gave,  I  did  not  comprehend  what  this  building  could 
be,  built  on  such  an  extraordinary  plan,  and  quite  new,  at  least 
to  me. 

"At  this  instant,  one  of  the  municipals  broke  the  solemn 
silence  which  he  had  preserved  during  the  passage.  '  Thy  mas- 
ter,' he  said  to  me,  'has  been  accustomed  to  gilded  roofs.  Well, 
he  will  see  how  the  assassins  of  the  people  are  lodged.  Follow 
me  !  '  I  went  up  several  steps  ;  a  low  narrow  door  conducted  me 
to  a  spiral  staircase.  When  I  passed  from  this  principal  staircase 
to  a  smaller  one  that  rose  to  the  second  floor,  I  perceived  I  was 
in  a  tower.  I  entered  into  a  room,  lighted  by  a  solitary  window, 
unprovided  with  the  commonest  necessaries,  and  having  only  a 
wretched  bed  and  three  or  four  chairs,  '  Thy  master  will  sleep 
here,'  said  the  municipal.  Chamilly  had  now  joined  me  ;  we 
looked  at  each  other  without  saying  a  word  ;  they  flung  us,  as  if 
it  was  a  favor,  a  couple  of  sheets.  Then  they  left  us  alone  for 
some  moments. 

"An  alcove,  without  hangings  or  curtains,  held  a  small 
couch,  which  an  old  wicker  hurdle  announced  to  be  full  of  ver- 
min. We  endeavored  to  render  the  room  and  the  bed  as  neat  as 
possible.  The  king  entered,  and  displayed  neither  surprise  nor 
ill-humor.  Some  engravings,  mostly  indecent,  were  hung  on  the 
walls,  and  he  removed  them  himself.  '  I  do  not  want  to  leave 
such  things,'  he  said,  '  under  the  eyes  of  my  daughter.'  His 
Majesty  lay  down  and  slept  peacefully.  Chamilly  and  I  remained 
all  night  seated  near  his  bed.  We  contemplate  with  respect  the 
calmness  of  the  irreproachable  man  struggling  with  adversity, 
and  subduing  it  by  his  courage.  The  sentries,  posted  at  the 
door  of  the  room,  were  relieved  every  hour,  and  every  day  the 
municipals  on  duty  were  changed. 

"  It  was  only  at  the  moment  when  I  was  assisting  the  king 
into  or  out  of  bed,  that  he  ventured  to  say  to  me  a  few  words. 
Seated  and  covered  with  the  curtains,  what  he  said  to  me  was  not 


152 


IVALJtS  IN-  PARIS 


heard  by  the  commissioner.  One  day  when  his  Majesty  had  his 
ears  insulted  by  the  vile  language  the  municipal  on  guard  had 
hurled  at  him,  '  You  have  had  much  to  suffer  to-day,'  said  the 
king  to  me.  'Well,  for  love  of  me,  continue  to  endure  every- 
thing ;  make  no  reply.'  It  was  easy  to  execute  this  order.  The 
heavier  the  misery  that  oppressed  my  master,  the  more  sacred 
became  his  person. 

"  Another  time,  when  I  was  fastening  to  the  bed-head  a  black 
pin  which  I  had  made  into  a  kind  of  support  for  his  watch,  the 
king  slipped  into  my  hand  a  roll  of  paper.  '  Some  of  my  hair,' 
he  said,  'the  only  present  I  can  give  you  now.'" — Htie,  ''Mé- 
moires." 

The  faithful  valet  of  Louis  XVI.  has  given  us  details 
of  the  life  of  the  royal  prisoners  in  the  Temple. 

"  The  king  usually  rose  at  six  o'clock,  and  shaved  himself; 
I  trimmed  his  hair  and  helped  him  with  his  clothes.  He  then 
went  to  his  closet  or  study.  The  room  was  very  small,  and  the 
municipal  remained  in  the  bedroom,  with  door  half  open,  so 
as  to  have  the  king  always  in  sight.  His  Majesty  knelt  down 
and  prayed  for  five  or  six  minutes,  and  then  read  till  nine  o'clock. 
During  this  interval,  after  cleaning  up  the  bedroom  and  laying 
the  table  for  breakfast,  I  went  down  to  the  queen.  She  did  not 
open  the  door  till  I  came,  in  order  to  prevent  the  municipal  en- 
tering the  room.  I  dressed  the  young  prince's  hair,  arranged  the 
queen's  toilet,  and  went  to  perform  the  same  duty  in  the  room  of 
Madame  Royale  and  Madame  Elizabeth.  This  period  was  one 
of  those  when  I  could  tell  the  queen  and  the  princesses  what  I 
had  heard.  A  sign  indicated  I  had  something  to  say  to  them, 
and  one  of  them  diverted  the  attention  of  the  municipal  officer 
by  talking  to  him. 

"At  nine,  the  queen,  her  children,  and  Madame  Elizabeth 
ascended  to  the  king's  room  for  breakfast  ;  after  having  served 
them,  I  made  the  rooms  of  the  queen  and  the  princesses.  At  ten, 
the  king  and  his  family  went  down  to  the  queen's  chamber  and 
passed  the  day  there.  He  devoted  himself  to  his  son's  education, 
making  him  recite  passages  from  Corneille  and  Racine,  giving 
him  lessons  in  geography,  and  practising  him  in  tinting  the  maps. 
The  premature  intelligence  of  the  young  prince  responded  to  the 
tender  cares  of  the  king  perfectly.  His  memory  was  so  good 
that  on  a  map  covered  hy  3.  sheet  of  paper  he  indicated  the  de- 
partments, the  districts,  the  towns,  and  the  course  of  the  rivers  ;  it 


THE    TEMPLE  153 

was  the  new  geography  of  France  that  the  king  taught  him.  The 
queen,  on  her  side,  was  occupied  in  educating  her  daughter,  and 
these  different  lessons  lasted  till  eleven.  The  rest  of  the  morning 
was  passed  in  sewing,  knitting  or  working  at  tapestry.  At  noon 
the  three  princesses  went  to  the  room  of  Madame  Elizabeth  to 
take  oft'  their  morning  gowns.  No  municipal  officer  went  with 
them. 

"  At  one  o'clock,  when  it  was  fine,  the  royal  family  went  down 
to  the  garden,  and  four  municipal  officers  and  a  chief  of  the  Legion 
of  the  National  Guard  accompanied  them.  As  there  were  many 
workmen  in  the  Temple,  engaged  on  the  demolition  of  the  houses 
and  building  new  walls,  only  a  part  of  the  Alley  of  Chestnuts  was 
assigned  for  a  promenade.  I  was  permitted  to  take  part  in  these 
promenades,  during  which  I  played  with  the  young  prince  at 
foot-ball,  quoits,  running,  or  other  exercises. 

"At  two  o'clock  we  returned  to  the  tower,  where  I  served 
dinner,  and  every  day,  at  the  same  hour,  Santerre,  the  brewer, 
commandant  general  of  the  National  Guard  of  Paris,  came  to  the 
Temple  with  two  aides-de-camp.  He  carefully  examined  all  the 
rooms.  Sometimes  the  king  addressed  him,  the  queen  never. 
After  the  repast,  the  royal  family  returned  to  the  queen's  cham- 
ber. Their  Majesties  usually  made  up  a  party  for  picquet  or 
backgammon.     During  this  time  I  dined. 

"At  four  o'clock  the  king  took  a  short  nap,  the  princesses 
sitting  around  him,  each  with  a  book  in  her  hands  ;  the  greatest 
silence  prevailed  during  this  slumber. 

"  When  the  king  awoke,  conversation  was  resumed.  He  used 
to  make  me  sit  near  him,  and,  under  his  inspection,  I  gave  his 
son  writing  lessons,  copying  for  the  headlines  passages  from  the 
works  of  Montesquieu  and  other  celebrated  authors,  at  the  king's 
selection.  After  this  lesson,  I  conducted  the  young  prince  to  the 
room  of  Madame  Elizabeth,  where  I  made  him  play  at  ball  or 
shuttlecock. 

"At  the  end  of  the  day  the  royal  family  gathered  round  a 
table  ;  the  queen  read  aloud  from  historical  or  other  well-chosen 
works  fitted  to  instruct  and  amuse  the  children,  but  in  which 
unforeseen  analogies  with  the  situation  often  presented  them- 
selves and  gave  rise  to  very  sad  thoughts.  Madame  Elizabeth 
read  in  her  turn,  and  this  reading  continued  till  eight  o'clock. 
I  then  served  supper  for  the  young  prince  in  the  room  of  Madame 
Elizabeth.  The  royal  family  was  present,  and  the  king  amused 
himself  by  entertaining  the  children,  making  them  guess  some 


154  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

riddles  taken  from  a  collection  of  the  Mercure  de  France,  which 
he  had  found  in  the  library. 

"  After  the  Dauphin's  supper  I  undressed  him.  The  queen 
made  him  say  his  prayers,  and  he  made  a  special  prayer  for  the 
Princess  de  Lamballe,  and  in  another  he  besought  God  to  protect 
the  life  of  the  Marquise  de  Tourzel,  his  governess.  When  the 
municipals  were  too  near,  the  young  prince  had,  of  himself,  the 
precaution  to  say  these  two  last  prayers  in  a  low  voice.  I  then 
took  him  into  the  cabinet,  and,  if  I  had  anything  to  tell  the  queen, 
I  seized  the  opportunity.  I  told  her  the  contents  of  the  news- 
papers ;  none  were  admitted  into  the  tower,  but  a  crier,  sent  ex- 
pressly every  evening  at  seven,  came  to  the  wall  on  the  side  of  the 
Rotunda  in  the  enclosure  of  the  Temple,  and  repeated  several 
times  a  summary  of  all  that  had  taken  place  in  the  National 
Assembly,  the  Commune,  and  the  armies.  I  placed  myself  in 
the  king's  cabinet  to  listen,  and  there,  in  the  silence,  it  was  easy 
to  remember  all  I  heard. 

"At  nine  the  king  had  supper.  The  queen  and  Madame 
Elizabeth  remained  alternately  with  the  Dauphin  during  this  re- 
past, and  I  brought  them  what  they  wished  for  supper.  This  was 
another  of  the  moments  when  I  could  speak  to  them  without 
witnesses. 

"  After  supper,  the  king  went  up  for  a  moment  to  the  queen's 
chamber,  giving  to  her  his  hand  in  token  of  adieu,  as  also  to  his 
sister,  and  receiving  the  embraces  of  his  children.  He  then  went 
to  his  room,  retired  to  his  cabinet,  and  read  till  midnight.  The 
queen  and  the  princesses  closed  their  doors.  One  of  the 
municipals  remained  in  the  little  room  which  separated  their 
bedrooms,  and  passed  the  night  there:  the  other  followed  his 
Majesty."— y^z^;-«a/^^  Cîéry. 

Here,  on  January  20,  1793,  the  day  before  his  execu- 
tion, Louis  XVI.  took  leave  of  his  family. 

"  At  half-past  eight  the  door  opened,  the  queen  appeared  first, 
holding  her  son  by  the  hand  ;  then  Madame  Royale  and  Madame 
Elizabeth  ;  they  all  flung  themselves  into  the  king's  arms.  A 
melancholy  silence  reigned  for  some  minutes,  and  was  only  inter- 
rupted by  sobs.  The  queen  made  a  movement  to  draw  the  king 
to  her  room,  but  he  said,  '  No,  let  us  go  into  this  hall,  I  cannot 
see  you  elsewhere.'  They  entered,  and  I  closed  the  door,  which 
was  of  glass.     The  king  sat  down,  the  queen  on  his  left,  Madame 


THE    TEMPLE  l^^ 

Elizabeth  on  his  right,  Madame  Royale  almost  opposite,  and  the 
young  prince  remained  standing  between  the  king's  knees.  All 
bent  towards  him,  and  he  often  clasped  them  in  his  embrace. 
This  scene  of  sorrow  lasted  an  hour  and  three-quarters,  during 
which  it  was  impossible  to  hear  anything  ;  all  that  could  be  seen 
was  that,  after  every  phrase  of  the  king,  the  sobs  of  the  princesses 
redoubled,  and  lasted  for  several  minutes,  and  that  then  the  king 
recommenced  speaking.  It  was  easy  to  judge  by  their  movements 
that  he  himself  had  told  them  of  his  condemnation. 

"  At  a  quarter  to  ten,  the  king  rose  up  first,  and  all  followed 
him  ;  I  opened  the  door  ;  the  queen  held  the  king  by  the  right 
arm.  Their  Majesties  each  gave  a  hand  to  the  Dauphin  ;  Madame 
Royale  on  the  left  clasped  the  king  by  the  waist  ;  Madame  Eliza- 
beth on  the  same  side,  but  more  in  the  rear,  grasped  the  arm  of 
her  august  brother  ;  they  made  some  steps  towards  the  entrance 
door,  uttering  the  most  lamentable  groans.  '  I  assure  you,'  said 
the  king,  'I  shall  see  you  to-morrow  morning  at  eight  o'clock.' 
'  You  promise  that?'  they  all  cried  together.  '  Yes,  I  promise  it.' 
'Why  not  at  seven?'  said  the  queen.  'Well,  yes,  at  seven,'  re- 
plied the  king.  'Adieu.'  He  pronounced  this  adieu  in  such  an 
expressive  manner  that  their  sobs  redoubled.  Madame  Royale 
fainted  at  the  king's  feet  which  she  clasped  ;  I  raised  her  and 
helped  Madame  Elizabeth  to  support  her.  The  king,  wishing  to 
put  an  end  to  this  heart-rending  scene,  gave  them  the  tenderest 
embraces,  and  had  the  courage  to  tear  himself  from  their  arms. 
'Adieu,  .  .  .  Adieu,  .  .  ,  '  he  said,  and  returned  to  his  cham- 
ber."—yi9z^r«a/â?'<?  Cléry. 

On  July  3,  the  queen  was  deprived  of  her  son. 

"Louis  XVII.  was  torn  from  the  queen's  arms,  and  confined 
in  the  part  of  the  tower  which  the  king  had  occupied.  There,  the 
young  prince,  whom  some  of  the  regicides  called  the  wolf-cub  of 
the  Temple,  was  abandoned  to  the  brutality  of  a  man  called 
Simon,  who  had  been  a  cobbler,  and  was  a  drunkard,  gambler, 
and  debauchee.  The  age,  innocence,  misfortune,  celestial  visage, 
the  languor  and  the  tears  of  the  royal  child,  could  not  soften  this 
savage  keeper.  One  day  when  drunk  he  nearly  knocked  out, 
with  a  blow  of  his  napkin,  the  eye  of  the  prince,  whom,  by  a 
refinement  of  cruelty,  he  had  compelled  to  wait  on  him  at  table. 
He  beat  him  mercilessly. 

"One  day,  in  a  fit  of  rage,  he  took  up  one  of  the  andirons, 
and,  holding  it  over  him,  threatened  to  brain  him.     The  heir  of 


156  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

so  many  kings  heard,  at  every  instant,  nothing  but  coarse  words 
and  obscene  songs.  '  Capet,'  said  Simon  one  day,  '  if  these  men 
of  La  Vendée  deliver  thee,  what  wouldest  thou  do?'  'I  would 
pardon  you'  replied  the  young  king." — Iftie,  ''  Dernières  années  de 

Louis  xvir 

The  Dauphin  died  in  his  prison,  of  the  ill-treatment  he 
had  received,  on  June  9,  1795. 

On  August  2,  1793,  the  queen  was  separated  from  her 
daughter  and  Madame  Elizabeth,  and  removed  to  the 
Conciergerie.     Madame  Royale  relates — 

"On  the  2d  of  August,  at  two  in  the  morning,  they  awoke 
us  to  read  to  my  mother  the  decree  of  the  Convention,  which 
ordered  that,  on  the  requisition  of  the  Procurer  of  the  Commune, 
she  was  to  be  taken  to  the  Conciergerie  for  trial.  She  heard  the 
decree  read  without  emotion,  or  saying  a  single  word  ;  my  aunt 
and  I  asked  at  once  to  accompany  my  mother,  but  the  favor  was 
not  granted.  While  she  was  packing  up  her  clothes  the  municipals 
never  quitted  her  ;  she  was  even  obliged  to  dress  in  their  presence. 
They  asked  for  her  pockets  ;  she  gave  them  over,  and  they 
searched  them  and  took  all  that  was  in  them.  .  .  .  My  mother, 
after  tenderly  embracing  me,  and  bidding  me  to  take  courage,  to 
take  care  of  my  aunt,  and  obey  her  as  a  second  mother,  repeated 
the  instructions  of  my  father  ;  then,  flinging  herself  in  my  aunt's 
arms,  she  commended  her  children  to  her.  I  made  no  reply,  so 
afraid  was  I  of  seeing  her  for  the  last  time  ;  my  aunt  said  some 
words  in  a  very  low  tone.  Then  my  mother  departed  without 
casting  her  eyes  on  us,  from  fear,  no  doubt,  lest  her  firmness 
should  leave  her.  As  she  went  out,  she  struck  her  head  against 
the  wicket,  having  forgotten  to  stoop.  Some  one  asked  if  she 
was  hurt.  '  Oh,  no,'  she  replied,  *  nothing  can  hurt  me  now  !  '  " — 
Récit  des  événements  anivés  au  Temple. 

On  May  9,  1794,  Madame  Elizabeth  was  carried  off  to 
execution,  and  her  niece  was  left  alone  in  her  prison. 

"The  9th  of  May,  just  as  we  were  going  to  bed,  the  bolts 
were  drawn  back  and  there  was  a  knock  at  our  door.  My  aunt 
replied  she  was  putting  on  her  dress  ;  the  answer  was,  that  that 
could  not  take  such  a  long  time,  and  the  knocking  became  so 
violent  that  we  thought  the  door  would  be  forced.     She  opened 


THE    TEMPLE 


157 


it  when  she  was  dressed.  'Citizeness,'  they  said,  'wilt  thou  come 
down?'  'And  my  niece?'  '  She  will  be  attended  to  after.'  My 
aunt  embraced  me  and  told  me  to  calm  myself,  as  she  would  return. 
'No,  citizeness,  thou  wilt  not  return,'  some  one  said;  'get  thy 
cap  and  come  down  !*  Insults  of  the  coarsest  kind  were  heaped 
upon  her  ;  she  bore  them  with  patience,  took  her  cap,  embraced 
me  again,  bade  me  have  courage  and  firmness,  to  put  my  trust 
in  God,  to  observe  the  principles  of  religion  taught  me  by  my 
parents,  and  never  to  forget  the  last  advice  of  my  father  and  my 
mother.  She  went  out.  When  she  had  descended,  they  asked  for 
her  pockets  ;  there  was  nothing  in  them.  At  last,  after  a 
thousand  insults,  she  departed  with  the  usher  of  the  tribunal."— 
Récit  des  événements  arfivés  au  Temple. 

Madame  Royale  was  released  from  the  Temple,  De- 
cember 19,  1795,  ^ft^'^  3.  captivity  of  three  years,  four 
months  and  five  days. 

"  She  left  no  other  trace  of  her  captivity  and  her  tears  in  her 
person  than  these  two  lines  engraved  by  her  on  the  stone  of  the 
window  during  the  long  inaction  of  her  confinement.  '  O  my 
father,  watch  over  me  from  heaven  above  !  O  my  God,  pardon 
those  who  slew  my  father!'" — Lamartine,  ''Hist,  de  la  Res- 
tauration,^^ 

Nothing  is  now  left  of  the  Temple,  but  (near  a  rock  on 
the  south  side  of  the  square)  the  weeping-willow  which 
Madame  Royale,  then  Duchesse  d'Angoulême,  planted  in 
1 8 14,  on  the  site  of  the  prison  of  her  sorrows. 

Higher  up  the  Rue  du  Temple  (left)  is  the  Church  of 
St.  Elizabeth^  founded  by  Marie  de  Medicis  in  1628,  for  a 
convent  of  Franciscan  nuns.  It  contains  a  singular  font 
of  1654,  and  100  little  XVI.  c.  sculptures  in  wood,  of  Bible 
History,  said  to  come  from  a  church  at  Arras. 

In  the  Rue  de  Bretagne,  running  along  the  lower  side 
of  the  Jardin  du  Temple,  No.  i  is  the  ancient  Hotel  de 
Tallard^  the  staircase  of  which  is  a  masterwork  of  Bullet. 
The  Rue  de  Bretagne  will  take  us  into  the  Rue  Vieille  du 
Temple^  one  of  the  busiest  streets  of  the  quarter. 


igg  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

On  the  east,  the  Rue  des  Coutures  St.  Gervais  contains 
(No.  i),  the  entrance  to  the  Ecok  Centrale  des  Arts  et 
Manufactures.  The  hotel  was  built,  in  1656,  for  the 
financier,  Aubert  de  Fontenay.  His  monogram  remains 
on  the  balustrude  of  the  splendid  staircase.  His  having 
become  enriched  by  the  salt-tax  at  one  time  gave  his 
house  the  name-  of  Hôtel  Salé.  Long  the  Venetian  em- 
bassy, it  became  the  property  of  the  Maréchal  de  Villeroy, 


OVER    DOORWAY,    RUE   VIEILLE    DU   TEMPLE. 


then  of  M.  de  Juigné,  archbishop  of  Paris.  The  archi- 
épiscopal kitchens  are  now  laboratories.  A  great  hall  is 
called  the  Salle  de  Jupiter. 

The  Rue  Vieille  du  Temple  is  full  of  fine  old  houses. 
No.  108  has  a  handsome  courtyard  in  brick  and  stone. 
At  No.  54  is  the  Tourelle  of  the  Hôtel  Barbette,  which 
we  shall  return  to  in  the  next  chapter.  The  gateway 
at  No.  87  leads  into  the  courtyard  of  the  stately  Palais 


PALAIS   CARDINAL 


159 


Cardinal^  begun,  in  17 12,  upon  part  of  the  site  pre- 
viously occupied  by  the  Hôtel  de  Soubise.  The  court 
of  this  place  and  its  surroundings  are  magnificent  of  their 
kind,  and  were  famous  as  the  residence  of  the  handsome 
and  dissolute  Cardinal  de  Rohan,  who,  utterly  duped 
by  the  intrigues  of  a  woman  calling  herself  Comtesse 
Lamotte  Valois,  was  arrested  for  the  "  affaire  du  collier," 
and  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille.  It  was  his  trial  (followed 
by  an  acquittal)  which  rendered  Marie  Antoinette  unpopu- 
lar with  the  clergy  and  a  great  part   of  the  aristocracy, 


fes«- 


THE   COURT   OF   THE    PALAIS    CARDINAL. 


besides  causing  an  exposure  of  court  scandals  and  extrava- 
gance fatally  injurious  to  her  with  the  people.  This  was 
the  Cardinal  Grand  Almoner  of  France,  who,  when  his 
brother,  the  Grand  Chamberlain,  failed  for  thirty-three 
millions,  announced  proudly — "  II  n'y  a  qu'un  roi  ou  un 
Rohan  qui  puisse  faire  une  pareille  banqueroute;  c'était 
une  banqueroute  de  souverain." 

The  Palais  Cardinal  is  now  used  for  the  Impri??ierie 
Natio?iale  (open  to  visitors  provided  with  an  order  at  2  p.m. 
on  Thursdays).     The  institution  has  its  origin  in  the  Im- 


l6o  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

primerie  Royale  established  by  François  I.  in  the  Louvre. 
It  was  partly  transferred  to  the  Elysée  Bourbon  in  1792, 
and  was  established  in  the  Hôtel  de  Toulouse  in  1798. 
In  1809  it  was  brought  to  its  present  site.  The  most 
interesting  typographical  curiosity  here  is  the  set  of  mat- 
rices of  the  Grec  du  Roi — Greek  characters  engraved 
for  François  I. 

At  No.  47,  opposite  the  Marché  des  Blancs-Manieaux, 
is  the  Hôtel  de  Hollande,  which  was  the  residence  of  the 
ambassador  of  Holland  under  Louis  XIV.  It  was  built 
in  the  XVII.  c.  by  Pierre  Cottard  for  Amelot  de  Bisseul, 
and  was,  at  one  time,  the  residence  of  Beaumarchais. 
The  splendid  entrance  recalls  that  of  the  Ecole  de  Dessin  ; 
its  gates  are  decorated  with  Medusa  heads,  angels  sup- 
porting shields,  &c.  The  court  is  very  rich  in  sculptured 
Caryatides.  At  the  back  of  the  entrance  portal  is  a  great 
relief  by  Regnaudin  of  Romulus  and  Remus  suckled  by 
the  wolf  and  found  by  the  shepherd  Faustulus.  The 
rooms  were  adorned  with  bas-reliefs  and  paintings  by 
Sarazin,  Poerson,  Vouet,  Dorigny,  and  Corneille. 


i 

CHAPTER     III. 

THE  MARAIS  AND  NEIGHBORHOOD  OE  THE  HÔTEL 
DE   VILLE. 

THERE  are,  as  a  whole,  more  historic  relics  remaining 
in  the  Marais  than  in  any  other  part  of  Paris.  In 
the  XVIII.  c.  the  Marais  was  regarded  rather  as  a  prov- 
ince than  as  a  quarter  of  Paris  :  thus  we  read  in  the  song 
of  Collé  and  Sedaine  : 

"On  n'est  plus  de  Paris  quand  on  est  du  Marais, 
Vive,  vive  le  quartier  du  Marais."* 

"  Here  you  find  at  least  the  age  of  Louis  XIII.,  with  its  super- 
annuated manners  and  opinions.  The  Marais  is  to  the  brilliant 
quarter  of  the  Palais  Royal  what  Vienna  is  to  London.  Want 
does  not  reign  there,  but  a  perfect  mass  of  old  prejudices  ;  small 
fortunes  take  refuge  there.  There  are  seen  old  grumblers,  dull, 
enemies  to  all  new  ideas,  and  imperious  dowagers  who  find 
fault,  without  reading,  with  the  authors  whose  names  reach  their 
ears.  There  philosophers  are  called  'people  to  be  burnt.'  If 
one  has  the  misfortune  to  sup  there,  one  meets  only  stupid  peo- 
ple ;  it  is  in  vain  to  look  for  amiable  men  who  adorn  their  idea^ 
with  the  brilliancy  of  wit  and  the  charms  of  sentiment." — TablecM 
de  Pmis,  1782. 

Turning  east  from  the  Rue  Vieille  du  Temple,  by  the 
Rue  des  Francs-Bourgeois,  we  find  at  the  angle  a  pictur- 
esque and  beautiful  old  house,  with  an  overhanging  tourelle, 

*  "  Mauvaise  plaisanterie  sur  le  quartier  du  Marais." 


1 62  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

ornamented  by  niches  and  pinnacles.  It  takes  its  name  of 
Hôtel  Barbette  from  Etienne  Barbette,  Master  of  the  Mint, 
and  confidential  friend  of  Philippe  de  Bel,  "  directeur  de  la 
monnoie  et  de  la  voierie  de  Paris,"  who  built  a  house  here 
in  1298.  At  that  time  the  house  stood  in  large  gardens 
which  occupied  the  whole  space  between  the  Cultures  St. 


HOTEL   BARBETTE. 


Catherine,  du  Temple,  and  St.  Gervais,  and  which  had 
belonged  to  the  canons  of  St.  Opportune.  Three  more  of 
these  vast  garden  spaces,  then  called  courtilles,  existed  in 
this  neighborhood,  those  of  the  Temple,  St.  Martin,  and 
St.  Boucelais.  It  is  recorded  that  when  the  king  offended 
the  people  in   1306,  by  altering  the  value  of  the  coinage, 


HÔTEL   BAKBirrrii  163 

they  avenged  themselves  by  tearing  up  the  trees  in  the 
Courtille  Barbette,  as  well  as  by  sacking  the  hotel  of  the 
minister,  for  which  twenty-eight  men  were  hanged  at  the 
principal  gates  of  Paris.  Afterwards  the  Hôtel  Barbette 
became  the  property  of  Jean  de  Montagu,  then  sovereign- 
master  of  France,  and  vidame  de  Laonois  ;  and,  in  1403, 
it  was  bought  by  the  wicked  Queen  Isabeau  de  Bavière, 
wife  of  Charles  VI.,  and  became  her  favorite  residence, 
known  as  "  le  petit  séjour  de  la  reine." 

At  the  Hôtel  Barbette,  Queen  Isabeau  was  not  only 
freed  from  the  presence  of  her  insane  husband,  who  re- 
mained at  the  Hôtel  St.  Paul  under  the  care  of  a  mistress, 
but  could  give  herself  up  without  restraint  to  her  guilty 
passion  for  her  brother-in-law,  Louis,  Due  d'Orléans,  who, 
in  the  words  of  St.  Foix,  "tâchoit  de  désennuyer  cette 
princesse  à  l'hôtel  Barbette."  Here,  also,  were  decided 
all  those  affairs  of  state  with  which  the  queen  and  her  lover 
played,  as  the  poor  king,  at  the  Hôtel  St.  Paul,  with  his 
cards,  though,  whatever  his  faults,  the  Due  d'Orléans  was 
at  this  time  the  only  rampart  of  fallen  monarchy,  and  the 
only  protector  of  the  future  king  against  the  rapacity  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy. 

It  was  on  Wednesday,  November  23,  1407,  that  the 
queen  had  attired  herself  for  the  evening  in  her  trailing 
robes  and  head-dress  "  en  cornes  merveilleuses,  hautes  et 
longues  enchâssées  de  pierreries,"  to  receive  the  Duc 
d'Orléans,  whom  Brantôme  describes  as  "  ce  grand  des- 
baucheur  des  dames  de  la  cour  et  des  plus  grandes." 
Whilst  they  were  supping  magnificently,  one  of  the  royal 
valets  named  Schas  de  Courte  Heuse,  entered,  and  an- 
nounced that  the  king  desired  the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  come 
to  him  immediately,  as  he  wanted  to  speak  to  him  on  mat- 
ters of  the  utmost  importance.    A  presentiment  of  evil  pos- 


164 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


sessed  the  queen;  but  the  duke,  "sans  chaperon,  après 
avoir  mis  sa  houppelande  de  damas  noir  fourre'e,"  went  out 
at  once,  playing  with  his  glove  as  he  went,  and  mounted 
his  mule,  accompanied  only  by  two  squires  riding  on  the 
same  horse,  by  a  page  called  Jacob  de  Merre,  and  three 
running  footmen  with  torches.  But  Raoul  d'Octouville, 
formerly  head  of  the  finances,  who  had  been  dismissed 
from  his  post  by  the  duke,  was  waiting  in  the  shade,  ac- 
companied by  seventeen  armed  men,  and  instantly  rushed 
upon  him,  with  cries  of  "  A  mort  !  à  mort  !  "  By  the  first 
blow  of  his  axe  Raoul  cut  off  the  hand  with  which  the  duke 
guided  his  mule,  and  by  another  blow  cleft  open  his  head. 
In  vain  the  duke  cried  out,  "  Je  suis  le  duc  d'Orléans  ;  " 
no  one  attempted  to  help  him,  and  he  soon  tottered  and 
fell.  One  of  his  servants  flung  himself  upon  his  prostrate 
body  to  defend  it,  and  was  killed  upon  the  spot.  Then,  as 
Raoul  held  over  his  victim  a  torch  which  he  had  snatched 
from  one  of  the  footmen,  and  exclaimed,  "  II  est  bien 
mort  !  "  it  is  affirmed  that  a  hooded  figure  emerged  from 
the  neighboring  Hôtel  Notre-Dame,  and  cried,  "  Extin- 
guish the  lights,  then,  and  escape."  On  the  following  day 
the  same  figure  was  recognized  at  the  funeral  of  the  Duke 
of  Orleans  in  his  owe  chapel  at  the  Celestins  ;  it  was  his 
first  cousin,  the  Due  de  Bourgogne.  Only  two  years  later 
Jean  de  Montagu,  Prime  Minister  and  Superintendent  of 
Finances,  the  former  owner  of  the  Hôtel  Barbette,  was  be- 
headed at  the  Halles,  and  afterwards  hanged,  on  an  accu- 
sation of  peculation,  but  in  truth  for  no  other  reason  than 
because  he  was  the  enemy  of  the  Due  de  Bourgogne. 
Queen  Isabeau  left  the  Hôtel  Barbette  after  the  murder  of 
her  lover,  and  shut  herself  up  in  Vincennes. 

In  152 1    the  Hôtel  Barbette  was  inhabited  by  the  old 
Comte  de  Brézé,  described  by  Victor  Hugo — 


RUE   DES   FRANCS-BOURGEOIS 

"  Affreux,  mal  bâti,  mal  tourné, 
Marqué  d'une  verrue  au  beau  milieu  du  né. 
Borgne,  disent  les  uns,  velu,  chétif  et  blême 


165 


and  it  is  said  that  his  beautiful  wife,  Diane  de  St.  Vallier, 
was  leaning  against  one  of  the  windows  of  the  hotel,  when 
she  attracted  the  attention  of  François  I.,  riding  through 
the  street  beneath,  and  first  received  from  that  king  a 


HOTEL  IN  THE  RUE   DES  FRANCS-BOURGEOIS 

passing  adoration  which  laid  the  foundation  of  her  fort- 
unes, as  queen  of  beauty,  under  his  successor,  Henri  II. 
After  the  death  of  Diane  in  1566,  her  daughters,  the 
Duchesses  Aumale  and  Bourbon,  sold  the  Hôtel  Barbette, 
which  was  pulled  down,  except  the  fragment  which  we 
still  see,  and  which  was  restored  in  1886. 

The  J^iâe  des  Fra?ics- Bourgeois^  formerly  called  Rue  des 


66 


WALKS  IN  PARTS 


Vieilles  Poulies,  takes  its  name  from  the  charity  of  Jean 
and  Alix  Roussel  in  1350,  who  built  twenty-four  chambers 
here  for  the  poor,  and  bequeathed  them  to  the  Grand 
Prior  of  France,  on  condition  that  two  poor  persons  were 
to  be  lodged  in  each,  at  a  very  small  rent,  but  free  from 
all  taxes.  The  street  is  full  of  fine  old  houses,  with  stately 
renaissance  doorways,  of  which  we  give  a  specimen  taken 
from  No.  30. 

No.  14  is  of  the  end  of  the  XVI.  c.     Its  brick  façade 


WINDOW   SUPPORT,    RUE    DES    FKANCS-BOURGEOIS. 

is  framed  in  stone  with  round  niches.  Its  garden  and 
lead  fountain  existed  till  lately.  It  was  inhabited  at  one 
time  by  Barras. 

The  stately  house  known  as  the  ffofd  de  jfeajine 
d'Alhret  is  of  the  time  of  Louis  XV.  At  the  angle  of  the 
Rue  Pavée,  on  the  right,  is  the  Hotel  de  La?noig7iofi,  a 
magnificent  historic  mansion,  begun  by  Diane  de  France, 
legitimatized  daughter  of  Henri  II.,  and  Diane  de  Poitiers. 
She  herself  watched  the  building,  and  is  commemorated  in 
the  D's  and  stags'  heads   amongst  the  ornaments.     Her 


HOTEL    DR   LA  MOIGNON  167 

life  here  was  like  an  expiatory  offering  for  that  of  her 
mother.  "  L'hostel  de  la  Duchesse,"  said  Mathieu  de 
Morgues,  in  her  funeral  oration,  in  1612,  "  estoit  un 
gynéce'e  de  pudeur."  She  bequeathed  her  hotel  to  the 
Due  d'Angouleme,  son  of  Charles  IX.  and  Marie  Touchet, 
half  prince  and  half  bandit. 


HOTEL   DE   LAMOIGNON. 

"When  his  servants  asked  for  their  wages,  he  used  to  say: 
'  Shift  for  yourselves.  Four  streets  run  past  the  Hôtel  d'Angou- 
leme. You  are  in  a  good  spot.  Take  advantage  of  it,  if  you 
like.'  " —  Tallemant  des  Réaux. 

The  two  wings  of  the  house  are  of  the  time  of  the 
Duke.  His  arms,  which  surmounted  them,  have  dis- 
appeared   from    the    cornices   and  pilasters.      The  wings 


1 68  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

were  constructed  to  accord  with  the  rest  of  the  building  : 
in  the  north  wing  is  a  beautiful  balcony.  The  great 
engaged  pilasters,  with  corinthian  capitals,  rising  to  the 
whole  height  of  the  building,  often  copied  since,  here  find 
their  prototype.  The  initials  remaining  over  the  entrance 
are  those  of  M.  de  Lamoignon,  though  he  did  not  come  to 
the  hotel  till  long  after  the  date  inscribed  on  the  shield  : 
the  widow  of  the  Due  d'Angouleme  lived  there  long  after 
his  death.  The  square  tourelle  at  the  angle  overlooks  the 
crossways,  where  the  Due  bade  his  servants  to  provide  for 
their  own  subsistence. 

The  hotel  was  bought  in  1684,  by  the  Président 
Chrétien-François  de  Lamoignon,  who  gave  it  his  name. 
The  first  library  of  the  town  of  Paris  was  installed  here  in 
1763,  and  added  to  the  fame  of  the  hotel  till  the  Revolu- 
tion, when  it  was  sold. 

The  Riie  Pavée  once  contained  the  Hôtels  de  la  Houze, 
de  Gaucher,  de  Châtillon,  d'Herbouville,  and  de  Savoisi. 
Here  also,  in  the  centre  of  an  old  aristocratic  quarter, 
stood  the  hotel  of  the  Due  de  la  Force,^  which  afterwards 
became  the  terrible  prison  of  La  Force.  It  was  intended 
for  those  in  a  state  of  suspicion,  and  contained  five  courts, 
capable  of  holding  twelve  hundred  captives.  During  the 
Great  Revolution,  these  included  numbers  of  the  inmates 
of  the  neighboring  hotels.  One  hundred  and  sixty-four 
innocent  victims  were  massacred  here  alone.  The  prison 
was  only  destroyed  in  185 1.  Of  all  the  tragedies  con- 
nected with  it,  that  which  made  most  impression  was  the 
death  of  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe,  the  most  faithful  of 
the  friends  of  Marie  Antoinette,  who,  having  made  good 

^  The  original  hotel,  called  du  Roi  de  Sicile^  was  built  by  Charles  d'Anjou, 
brother  of  St.  Louis.  It  was  often  rebuilt,  and,  in  1621,  was  called  Hôtel  de 
Roquelaure  after  its  sale  to  Antoine  de  Roquelaure  in  the  XVI.  c,  and  Hôtel 
de  st.  Paul  after  its  sale  to  the  C  mte  de  St.  Paul  in  the  XVII.  c. 


PRISON   OF  LA    FORCE  169 

her  escape  at  the  time  of  the  flight  of  the  royal  family  to 
Vincennes,  insisted   upon  returning  to  share  the   mistort- 
unes  of  her  royal    mistress.     The  prisoners  in  La  Force, 
who   included   Mme  de  Tourzel   and  Mme  de   St.  Brice, 
also  members  of  the  household  of  Marie  Antoinette,  were 
tried  by  a  self-instituted  tribunal,  composed  from  the  dregs 
of  Paris.     When   Mme  de  Lamballe  was  dragged  before 
them,  surrounded  by  men  whose  faces,  hands,  clothes,  and 
weapons  were  covered  with  blood,  and  heard  the  cries  of 
the  unfortunates  who  were  being  murdered  in  the  streets, 
she  fainted  away.     After  she  was  restored  by  the  care  of 
her  lady-in-waiting,   who  had   followed  her,  the   so-called 
judges  demanded  if  she  was  cognizant  of  the  plots  of  the 
tenth  of  August.     "  I  do  not  even  know  if  there  were  any 
plots,"   she   replied.     "  Swear  liberty,  equality,  hatred  of 
the  king,  the  queen,   and  royalty."     "  I  can  easily  swear 
the  two  first,"  she  answered.     "  I  cannot  swear  the  last  ;  it 
is  not  in  my  heart."     "  Swear,  or  you  are  lost  1  "  whispered 
one  of  the  assistants.     The  Princess  did  not  answer,  lifted 
her  hands,  covered  her  face,  and  made  a  step  towards  the 
entrance.     The  formula,  "  Madame   is   at  liberty,"  which 
meant  certain  death,  was  pronounced  ;  two  men  seized  her 
by  the  arms  and  dragged  her  forward.     She  had  scarcely 
passed  the   threshold  before   she   received  a  blow  from  a 
sabre  at  the  back  of  her  head.     The  monsters  who  held 
her  then  tried  to  force  her  to  walk  in  the  blood  and  over 
the  corpses  of  others,  to  the  spot  marked  out  for  her  own 
fate,  but,  happily,  her  bodily  powers  again  failed,  and  she 
sank  unconscious.     She   was  immediately  despatched  by 
blows  from  pikes,  her  clothes  were  torn  off,  and  her  body 
was  exposed  for  more  than  two  hours  to  the  horrible  in- 
sults of  the  people.     Then  her  heart  was  torn  out,  and  her 
head  cut  off,  an  unhappy  hairdresser  was  compelled  to  curl 


170  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

and  powder  its  long  hair,  and  finally  head  and  heart,  pre- 
ceded by  fifes  and  drums,  were  carried  at  the  end  of  pikes, 
first  to  the  Abbaye,  to  be  exhibited  to  the  intimate  friend 
of  the  Princess,  Mme  de  Beauveau,  then  to  the  Temple  to 
be  shown  to  the  Queen  !' 

"The  assassins  who  had  come  to  murder  her  made  useless 
efforts  to  force  her  to  repeat  the  insults  with  which  they  loaded 
the  sacred  name  of  the  Queen.  '  No,  no,'  she  replied,  '  Never  ! 
Never  !  Death  sooner  !  '  Her  butchers  dragged  her  to  the  heap 
of  corpses  and  forced  her  to  kneel  ;  then,  after  giving  her  several 
sabre  cuts,  they  tore  open  her  bosom,  cut  out  her  heart,  cut  off 
her  head,  and  painted  its  cheeks  with  blood  ;  a  wretched  barber 
was  forced  to  curl  and  powder  her  long  blonde  tresses,  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  world,  and  then  these  cannibals  formed  them- 
selves into  a  hideous  procession,  preceded  by  fifes  and  drums  ; 
they  carried  the  head  on  a  pike  and  displayed  it  to  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  who  showed  himself  on  a  balcony  of  his  hotel  by  the 
side  of  Mme  Agnès  de  Buffon." — Souvenirs  de  la  Marquise  de 
Créqui. 

At  the  corner  of  the  Rue  des  Francs- Bourgeois  and  the 
Rue  de  Sévigné,  formerly  Rue  Culture  St.  Catherine, 
stands  the  famous  Hotel  Carnavalet,  built  1544,  for  the 
Président  de  Ligneris,  from  designs  of  Pierre  Lescot  and 
De  Bullant,  and  sold  in  1578  to  Françoise  de  la  Baume, 
dame  de  Kernevenoy,  a  Breton  name  which  has  remained 
attached  to  the  hotel  in  its  softened  form  of  Carnavalet, 
Under  her  son.  Du  Cerceau  built  the  left  wing  of  the 
court,  and  figures  of  the  Four  Elements,  in  the  style  of 
Jean  Goujon,  were  added  from  his  designs.  In  1664,  M. 
de  Carnavalet,  lieutenant  of  the  guard,  sold  the  hotel  to 
M.  d'Agaurri,  a  magistrate  of  Dauphine,  for  whom  Van 
Obstal  added  the  reliefs  of  the  outer  walls,  and  the  figures 
of  Force  and  Vigilance  on  the  façade.  Mansart  was  em- 
ployed to  restore  the  whole  building,  but  the  great  master 

»  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  Mémoires. 


HOTEL    CARNAVALET 


171 


wisely  forbore  much  to  alter  what  he  considered  an  archi- 
tectural masterpiece.  He  added  a  row  of  his  ma7isanies 
towards  the  garden,  and  some  Ionic  pilasters  to  the  inner 
façade  of  the  court,  but  refused  to  touch  the  outer  front. 
Being  kept  away  from,  Paris  by  his  duties  in  Dauphine',  M. 
d'Agaurri  let  the  hotel  he  had  restored  at  so  much  expense 
— first,  in  1677,  to  Mme  de  Lillebonne,  who  ceded  it  in  a 


HOTEL  CARNAVALET 


few  months  to  Mme   de  Se'vigné,  who  found  "  La  Carna- 
valette  "  exactly  to  her  fancy. 

It  is  to  having  been  the  residence  of  the  famous  Mar- 
quise de  Sévigné  from  1677  to  1698,  that  the  hotel  owes 
its  celebrity.  On  October  7,  1677,  she  was  able  to  write, 
"Dieu  merci,  nous  avons  l'hôtel  Carnavalet.  C'est  une 
affaire  admirable,  nous  y  tiendrons  tous,  et  nous  aurons  le 
bel  air."  She  was  delighted  with  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Annondades,   whom  she    called  "les  bonnes   petites  filles 


iy2  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

bleues,"  in  whose  chapel  she  could  hear  mass.  But  she 
was  long  in  installing  herself,  all  her  friends  had  their  inais^ 
their  si,  their  car,  and  her  daughter's  discontented  tempera- 
ment always  found  something  to  find  fault  with  in  the  fire- 
place of  the  time  of  Henri  II.,  old-fashioned  by  a  century, 
the  antiquated  distribution  of  the  rooms,  the  insufficient 
parquet,  &c.  Thus  it  took  two  years  before  Mme  de  Sé- 
vigné  was  settled  in  the  hotel.  "  Nous  voilà  donc  arrêtés  à 
l'hôtel  Carnavalet,  nous  ne  pouvions  mieux  faire,"  she 
wrote  on  October  i8,  1679,  and  henceforward  the  society 
of  the  Hôtel  Carnavalet,  which  may  be  said  to  have 
brought  about  the  renaissance  of  the  French  language,  be- 
came typical  of  all  that  was  most  refined  and  intellectual 
in  France,  uniting  many  of  those  familiar  to  us  from  the 
portraits  of  Lebrun  and  Hyacinthe  Rigaud.  It  was  hence, 
too,  that  many  of  the  famous  letters  were  written  by  the 
adoring  mother  to  the  absent  daughter,  after  her  marriage 
with  the  Marquis  de  Grignan,  mingled  with  complaints 
that  she  could  not  let  her  daughter's  unoccupied  room — 
*'  ce  logis  qui  m'a  fait  tant  songer  à  vous  ;  ce  logis  que  tout 
le  monde  vient  voir,  que  tout  le  monde  admire  ;  et  que 
personne  ne  veut  louer." 

"Mme  de  Sévigné  never  left  it  afterwards  ;  she  was  its  soul, 
and  remains  its  glory.  High  above  all  that  succeeded  her,  her  name 
floats  with  a  splendor  which  prevents  a  glance  at  anything  else. 
'  The  misfortune  of  not  having  her  is  always  a  new  sorrow  to 
me,'  wrote  Mme  de  Coulanges,  a  year  after  her  death  ;  '  there  is 
too  great  a  void  in  the  Hôtel  Carnavalet.'  Since  then  there  has 
been  a  void  still,  whatever  were  the  persons  or  personages  who 
came  there.  Brunet  de  Rancy,  two  years  after  her,  brought  only 
his  importance  as  Farmer  General  with  its  clinking  gold,  which 
soumded  less  loudly  than  the  wit  that  had  disappeared.  Then 
came  the  charlatans,  with  their  transfusion  of  blood,  and,  later, 
chance  placed  the  storeroom  of  the  library  where  the  marquise  had 
made  the  most  charming  of  books,  while  she  was  believing  that 


H^  TEL    CARNA  VALET 


173 


she  was  only  writing  letters.  The  school  of  Ponts  et  Chaussées  was 
then  established  there,  as  if  to  level  whatever  remained  of  wit. 
Luckily,  a  scholar  with  wit,  M.  de  Prony,  was  the  director,  and 
the  salon  of  Mme  de  Sévigné  could  imagine  that  there  was  no 
geometry  in  the  house.  The  last  tenants  were  a  boarding-school 
keeper  and  his  scholars." — Edouaj'd  Fottrnier,  '^^  Paris  Guide" 

The  main  building  of  the  hotel  is  flanked  by  two  pavil- 
ions. The  lions  which  adorn  its  façade  are  from  the  hand 
of  Jean  Goujon,  as  well  as  the  tympanums  and  the  winged 
figure  on  the  keystone  of  the  gateway.  In  the  court,  the 
building  facing  th*e  entrance  is  adorned  with  statues  of  the 
Four  Seasons,  from  the  school  of  Jean  Goujon  ;  the  cen- 
tral group,  of  Fame  and  her  messengers,  is  by  the  great 
artist  himself. 

"The  door  has  a  bold  arch,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  light, 
female  figure,  with  a  floating,  diaphanous  robe,  like  the  Naiads  of 
Jean  Goujon,  exquisite,  smiling,  slender,  like  all  his  figures, 
erect  on  one  foot,  this  foot  placed  on  a  charming  mask.  Below 
the  mask,  a  part,  I  suppose,  of  the  '  canting  arms'  of  Carnavalet, 
is  an  escutcheon  mutilated  by  the  hammer,  where  doubtless  once 
were  seen  the  black  and  white  armorial  bearings  of  Sévigné,  and 
the  four  crosses  of  Rabutin,  of  which  the  Count  de  Bussy  was  so 
proud.  Lions,  Victories,  Roman  bucklers,  and  Fames  extended  in 
long  bas-reliefs  on  each  side  of  the  door,  which  an  artist  of  bad 
taste,  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  had  worked  eji  rocaille,  in  *  ver- 
miculated  embossings,'  as  the  architects  said,  in  words  as  barba- 
rous as  the  thing." — A.  Loeve-Veimars. 

Mme  de  Sévigné  and  her  daughter,  when  at  Paris,  in- 
habited the  first  floor  of  the  main  building,  reached  by  the 
stone  staircase  which  still  exists,  and  her  chamber  is  still 
pointed  out.  M.  de  Grignan,  on  his  brief  visits  to  Paris, 
occupied  the  ground-floor  rooms  below.  The  young  Mar- 
quis de  Sévigné  had  the  apartment  towards  the  street  ;  and 
the  Abbé  de  Coulanges,  uncle  of  the  Marquise,  the  right 
wing  towards  the  court.  The  left  wing  contained  the  prin- 
cipal reception-rooms. 


174  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  hotel  is  now  occupied  as  the  Musée  Municipal, 
chiefly  devoted  to  memorials  of  the  Great  Revolution 
{open  from  11/^4  o?i  Thursdays  and  Saturdays^,  and  a 
Library  of  Books  on  the  History  of  Paris  [open  from  \o  to 
4  daily). 

On  the  ground  floor  are  remains  of  Roman  tombs  found  at 
Paris,  and  fragments  of  the  early  basilica  which  preceded  Notre 
Dame.  At  the  top  of  the  stairs  we  should  notice  remains  of  the 
prison  doors  of  the  Conciergerie  from  the  cells  of  Mme  Roland 
and  Robespierre,  and  also  the  door  of  a  cell  iij  the  Hotel  des  Hari- 
cots (the  prison  of  the  National  Guard),  decorated  by  the  pris- 
oners. 

In  the  Grande  Salle  is  a  model  of  the  Bastille,  and  the  banner 
of  the  Emigration  ;  in  a  glass  case  (on  the  side  of  the  entrance) 
are  Jacobin  caps.  Amongst  the  pictures  is  one  of  Robespierre 
at  twenty-four — a  family  portrait,  painted  at  Arras  by  Boilly  in 
1783.  In  the  second  window  is  an  official  notice  of  the  execution 
of  Louis  XVI.  On  the  side  of  the  armoire  is  a  sketch  of  Marie 
Antoinette  taken  in  the  Conciergerie  by  Prieur. 

Amongst  the  china  in  the  Gallery  is  the  famous  "  tasse  de  la 
guillotine."  In  the  middle  of  the  second  gallery  is  a  bust  of 
Bailly,  given"  by  his  daughter,  and  one  of  the  official  busts  of 
Marat,  erected  in  all  the  halls  of  sections  in  Paris,  after  his  assas- 
sination. 

In  the  Salon  central,  the  carved  panelling  comes  from  the 
Hôtel  des  Stuarts,  in  the  Rue  St.  Hyacinthe.  Here  is  the  arm- 
chair in  which  Voltaire  died,  from  his  chamber  in  the  Hôtel  de 
Villette,  Rue  de  Beaune. 

The  decorations  of  the  Salon  des  Tableaux  were  those  of  the 
salle-à-manger  in  the  Hôtel  de  Dangeau,  in  the  Place  Royale. 

The  garden  (which  will  be  entered  by  an  arch  transported 
from  the  Rue  de  Nazareth)  contains  a  number  of  historic  relics — 
statues  from  Anet  ;  a  statue  of  Abundance  from  the  Marché  St. 
Germain  ;  a  relief  by  Auguier  from  the  Porte  St.  Antoine  ;  the 
old  Fontaine  St.  Michel  ;  a  retable  from  a  chapel  at  St.  Mery, 
1542,  by  Pierre  Berton  de  St.  Quentin,  &c. 

The  name  of  Rue  Culture  or  Couture  St.  Catherine, 
now  changed  to  Rue  de  Sévigné,  was  all  that  remained  of 
the  convent  and  church  of  St.  Catherine  du  Val  des  Eco- 


RUE   DE    ru  RENNE  ly^ 

liers,  which  was  a  thanksgiving  for  the  victory  of  Bovines/ 
the  street  having  been  built  on  cultivated  land  belonging 
to  the  convent.  In  this  street,  at  the  corner  near  the  Ho- 
tel Carnavalet,  lived  the  beautiful  Jewess  of  whom  the 
Due  d'Orléans  was  enamored,  and  at  whose  door  the  Con- 
nétable Olivier  de  Clisson  was  attacked  by  assassins,  hired 
by  the  Baron  de  Craon,  and  left  for  dead,  though  he  event- 
ually recovered. 

"A  celebrated  event,  so  circumstantially  told  by  our  his- 
torians, that  we  seem  to  be  present  at  it.  We  see  him  passing 
in  a  dark  night,  this  Grand  Constable,  armed  only  with  a  small 
cutlass,  trotting  on  his  good  horse  along  this  narrow  deserted 
street.  The  assassins  are  hid  under  the  awning  of  the  baker, 
where  they  were  waiting  for  him  ;  we  hear  the  sound  of  the  heavy 
fall  of  the  horse,  pierced  by  three  deep  sword  cuts,  the  noise  of 
the  fall  of  the  Constable,  whose  head  struck  against  a  door  which 
it  burst  open  ;  his  entreaties,  his  groans,  the  steps  of  the  fleeing 
assassins,  and  then  silence.  Then  the  cries  of  the  townsfolk 
running  with  torches,  barefooted,  hatless,  and  the  king,  who  was 
aroused  just  as  he  was  going  to  bed,  to  whom  they  announced 
the  death  of  his  good  Constable,  and  who  wrapped  himself  in  a 
great  coat,  se  fait  bouter  ses  souliers  es  pieds,  and  ran  to  the  spot 
where  they  told  him  his  good  Constable  had  just  been  slain." — 
A.  Lolve-Veimars. 

The  Rue  du  Roi  de  Sicile^  which  turns  to  the  right  from 
the  Rue  de  Sévigné  close  to  the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  com- 
memorates Charles  d'Anjou,  brother  of  St.  Louis. 

The  next  turn  from  the  Rue  des  Francs-Bourgeois  on 
the  left  is  the  Rue  de  Tureime^  formerly  St.  Louis  aux 
Marais,  which  takes  its  present  name  from  the  hotel  of 
the  famous  marshal,  turned  into  a  monastery  in  1684,  and 
destroyed  during  the  Revolution.  The  hotel  occupied  the 
site  of  the  Church  of  St.  Deitis  du  Sacre77ie?it.  The  poet 
Crébillon    lived   next   door.     The   chancellor  Boucherat 

»  The  fine  tomb  of  Mme  de  Birague,  now  in  the  Louvre,  came  from  this 
church,  destroyed  at  the  Revolution. 


176  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

resided,  at  the  end  of  the  XVII.  c,  at  No.  40,  afterwards 
the  Hôtel  d'Ecquevilly. 

It  was  in  the  Rue  St.  Louis  that  Mme  de  Maintenon 
lived  with  her  first  husband,  the  poet  Scarron,  and  made 
his  little  dinners  so  entertaining  that  their  simple  servant 
would  whisper  in  her  ear,  "  Madame,  encore  une  histoire, 
nous  n'avons  pas  le  rôti."  Such  was  her  poverty  before 
her  marriage  that  she  was  obliged  to  borrow  the  dress  she 
was  married  in  from  her  friend  Mile  de  Pons,  who  after- 
wards, as  Mme  d'Heudicourt,  had  an  apartment  at  Ver- 
sailles. 

From  the  Rue  Turenne  opens  on  the  right  the  Rtie  des 
Minimes^  which  formerly  contained  the  splendid  Hôtel  de 
Vitry,  and  which  took  its  name  from  the  Minimi  of  the 
Capuchin  Convent.  Its  church,  celebrated  for  the  ser- 
mons of  Bourdaloue,  contained  magnificent  tombs  of  the 
families  of  Colbert,  Villarcerf,  Vieville,  Perigny,  Le  Jay, 
and  Castille.  In  one  chapel  were  those  of  two  royal 
bastards — Diane,  Duchesse  d'Angoulême,  daughter  of 
Henri  IL,  and  Charles,  Due  d'Angoulême,  famous  for  his 
conspiracies  against  Henri  IV.  All  these  tombs  were 
destroyed  or  dispersed  at  the  Revolution. 

"Two  doors  farther,  a  house  of  a  courtesan  opened  at  early- 
dawn  and  a  man  came  out,  his  cloak  up  to  his  nose,  and  glided 
along  the  walls.  The  house  was  well  known  ;  it  was  that  of  the 
fair  Roman,  the  most  famous  courtesan  of  the  time  of  Henri  II. 
The  man  was  well  known  also  ;  he  was  called  Charles  of  Lor- 
raine, Due  de  Guise,  cardinal,  archbishop,  the  most  daring,  the 
most  eloquent,  the  most  vicious  man  of  his  times.  His  company 
of  guards,  which  never  quitted  him,  even  at  the  altar,  where  it 
mingled  the  smell  of  gunpowder  and  fuses  with  the  odor  of  the 
incense,  was  dispensed  with  when  he  visited  such  places.  A  bad 
arrangement,  for  he  had  all  the  trouble  in  the  world  to  escape 
the  ruffians  who  followed  him,  and  to  reach  his  beautiful  Hôtel  de 
Cluny,  with  its  three  hundred  halberdiers." — A.  Loeve-Veimars. 


PLACE   DES  VOSGES  jyj 

Higher  up,  the  Rue  de  Normandie  idXX'à^  on  the  left,  into 
the  Rue  de  Turenne. 

"  The  Rue  de  Normandie  is  one  of  those  streets  in  the  midst 
of  which  one  could  fancy  one  was  in  the  provinces.  The  grass 
is  growing,  a  passer-by  is  an  event,  everybody  knows  everybody. 
The  houses  date  from  the  epoch  when,  under  Henri  IV.,  a 
quarter  was  commenced,  in  which  each  street  bore«the  name  of  a 
province,  and  in  the  centre  was  to  be  a  beautiful  square  dedi- 
cated to  France.  The  idea  of  the  '  quartier  de  V  Europe'  was  a 
repetition  of  this  plan.  The  world  repeats  itself  in  everything, 
even  in  speculations." — Balzac,  ''  Les  parents  pauvres.'" 

On  the  right  the  Rue  St,  Claude  connects  the  Rue  de 
Turenne  with  the  Boulevard.  Here  Cagliostro  lived,  in 
the  house  of  the  Marquis  d'Orville. 

The  Rue   des  Francs-Bourgeois  now  leads  into   the 
Places  des  Vosges,  which  may  be  regarded   as  the  heart  of 
the  Marais.    Imagined  by  Sully,  carried  out  by  Henri  IV. 
in  his  early  existence  as  the  Place  Royale,  this  was  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  squares  in  Europe. 

"  Great  edifices  in  brick  and  stone,  ornamented  with  panels, 
bosses,  and  heavy  moulded  windows.  It  is  the  style  of  old 
French  architecture  which  followed  the  Renaissance  and  pre- 
ceded the  modern  era  ;  we  see  it  with  its  front  of  two  colors,  its 
pilasters,  its  partitions,  its  great  roofs  of  slate,  topped  by  leaden 
ridges  formed  into  divers  ornaments.  The  judicious  arrange- 
ment of  the  Place  Royal  deservedly  receives  praise  ;  vast  gal- 
leries reserved  for  foot  passengers  surround  it,  then  there  are 
four  broad  roads  for  riders  and  carriages,  and  in  the  centre  a 
garden  protected  by  an  iron  railing." — De  Guilhermy. 

The  site  had  been  previously  occupied  by  the  palace 
called  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  a  name  derived  from  the 
endless  turrets  with  which  its  architect  had  loaded  it, 
either  for  ornament  or  defence.  Pierre  d'Orgemont, 
chancellor  of  France,  built  the  first  stately  house  here  in 
1380,  and  bequeathed   it  to  his  son,  who  was  bishop  of 


1^8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Paris.  The  bishop  sold  it,  in  1402,  to  Jean,  Due  de  Berry, 
one  of  the  uncles  of  Charles  VI.,  from  whom  it  passed  to 
his  nephew,  the  Due  d'Orléans,  and  from  him  to  the  king. 
In  its  original  state,  the  hotel  stood  like  a  eountry  house 
in  a  wood  ealled  the  Pare  des  Tournelles,  whieh  has  left 
a  name  to  the  Rue  du  Pare- Roy  al.  "  En  cet  hostel,"  says 
Dubreul  in  his  Théâtre  des  Antiquitez  de  Paris,  "s'allaient 
réeréer  souventefois  nos  Roys,  pour  la  beauté  et  eom- 
modité  dudit  lieu."  Léon  de  Lusignan,  king  of  Armenia, 
died  here  in  1393.  The  Duke  of  Bedford,  regent  of 
France  after  the  death  of  Henri  V.,  lived  in  the  Hôtel  des 
Tournelles,  and  kept  flocks  of  peacocks  and  multitudes  of 
rarer  birds  in  its  gardens.  There  also  he  established  the 
royal  library  of  the  Louvre  (of  which  he  had  become  the 
possessor,  and  which  he  afterwards  carried  to  England), 
and  there  he  lost  his  beautiful  wife,  Anne  de  Bourgogne, 
buried  close  by,  in  the  Célestins  under  an  exquisite  monu- 
ment. Whenever  Louis  XI.  visited  Paris,  the  hotel  was 
his  residence,  and  it  was  there  that,  in  1467,  he  received 
his  queen,  Margaret  of  Scotland.  In  his  later  life,  how- 
ever, Louis  XL  only  cared  to  live  in  Touraine,  where  he 
died  at  Plessis  les  Tours,  and  his  son,  Charles  VI 1 1., 
made  his  home  exclusively  at  Blois,  of  which  he  had 
watched  the  building.  But  Louis  XII.  always  liked  the 
Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  where  he  spent  his  happiest  days 
with  his  beloved  Anne  of  Brittany.  Thither  he  returned 
after  his  third  marriage  with  Mary,  of  England,  the  young  ^ 
wife  who  so  entirely  upset  all  his  old-fashioned  ways — 
forcing  him  to  dine  at  12,  instead  of  8  o'clock  a.m.,  and 
to  go  to  bed  at  midnight,  instead  of  at  6  p.m. — that  she 
caused  his  death  in  a  few  months.  He  expired  on 
January  2,  15 15,  at  the  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  where  the 
crieurs  du  corps  rang  their  bells  round  the  building  in  whieh 


HOTEL   DES    TOURNELLES  ,79 

the  dead  king  lay,  and  cried  lamentably,  "  Le  bon  roi 
Louis,  père  du  peuple,  est  mort  !  "  The  two  successors 
of  Louis,  François  l.  and  Henri  II.,  were  so  occupied 
with  the  building  of  their  country  châteaux  at  Fontaine- 
bleau, Compiègne,  Rambouillet,  St.  Germain,  Chambord, 
&c ,  that  they  only  came  to  the  Hôtel  des  Tournelles  for 
the  tournaments,  which  in  earlier  days  had  taken  place  in 
the  grounds  of  the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul,  but  were  now  trans- 
ferred to  the  Rue  St.  Antoine.  It  was  in  a  tournament  of 
this  kind,  held  in  honor  of  the  marriage  of  Elizabeth  of 
France  with  Philippe  II.  of  Spain,  that  Henri  (June  28, 
1559),  bearing  the  colors  of  Diane  des  Poitiers,  in  tilting 
with  the  Comte  de  Montgomery,  captain  of  the  body- 
guard, received  a  wound  in  the  eye,  of  which,  ten  days 
after,  he  died  in  great  agony,  in  the  old  palace,  through 
which  the  people  of  Paris  poured  for  many  days,  to  visit 
his  body,  lying  in  a  chapelle  ardente. 

After  this  catastrophe  the  kings  of  France  abandoned 
what  they  considered  the  ill-omened  Hôtel  des  Tournelles. 
The  insistence  of  Catherine  de  Medicis,  widow  of  Henri 
IL,  even  procured  an  order  for  the  destruction  of  the 
hotel,  but  it  was  only  carried  out  as  regarded  that  part  of 
the  building  where  the  king  had  died,  and  a  fragment  of 
the  palace  was  still  existing  in  1656,  when  it  was  sold  to 
the  Filles  de  Sainte-Croix.  In  1578  a  horse-market  occu- 
pied part  of  the  grounds  of  the  hotel,  and  it  was  there  that 
the  famous  Co77ibat  des  Mignons  took  place,  and  was  fatal 
to  several  of  the  unpopular  favorites  of  Henri  IIL 

Henri  IV.  had  used  the  last  existing  remains  of  the 
palace  to  hold  two  hundred  Italian  workmen,  whom  he 
jiad  brought  from  their  own  country  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century  that  they  might  establish  the  manu- 
facture   of  stuffs    woven    with    gold    and    silver   tissue   in 


i8o  WALK'S  IN  PARIS 

France.  At  that  time  Henri  had  already  formed  the  idea 
of  making  the  Marais  the  handsomest  quarter  of  Paris. 
The  plans  adopted  for  the  Place  Royale  were  those  fur- 
nished by  the  austere  Huguenot,  Antoine  du  Cerceau. 
The  king  built  the  side  towards  the  Hôtel  de  Sully  (in  the 
Rue  St.  Antoine)  entirely  at  his  own  expense,  and  then 
conceded  plots  of  land  on  the  other  sides  to  his  courtiers, 
on  condition  of  their  erecting  houses  at  once,  according  to 
the  designs  they  received,  each  landowner  only  being 
required  to  pay  an  annual  tax  of  a  golden  crown,  so  that 
only  thirty-six  gold  crowns  were  received  for  the  thirty-six 
pavilions  surrounding  the  square. 

At  the  same  time  the  king  opened  the  four  streets 
leading  to  the  square  :  the  Rue  du  Parc-Royal,  the  Petite 
Rue  Royale,  afterwards  called  the  Pas-de-la-Mule,  and  the 
Rue  de  la  Coulture  St.  Catherine,  and  he  erected  the  two 
central  pavilions  on  the  south  and  north,  which  were  called 
respectively,  Pavilion  du  Roi  and  Pavilion  de  la  Reine. 
Every  day,  whilst  he  was  at  Paris,  Henri  IV.  came  him- 
self to  visit  and  stimulate  the  workmen,  and  when  he  was 
at  Fountainebleau  he  wrote  constantly  to  Sully  to  beg  him 
to  urge  them  on.  "Je  vous  recommande  la  Place  Royale," 
he  would  add  to  his  letters  on  other  subjects.  Coming 
one  day  to  look  at  the  work,  he  was  mortified  to  find  that 
one  of  the  private  individuals  to  whom  he  had  allotted  a 
site  was  vaulting  in  stone  the  portico  under  his  house, 
which  the  king  in  his  own  building  had  only  ceiled  with 
wood.  Mortified  to  be  outdone  by  a  subject,  he  consulted 
his  mason,  who  cleverly  propitiated  the  royal  pride  by 
promising  to  imitate  the  superior  work  in  plaster  so  well 
that  no  one  would  find  out  the  difference.  Henri  declared 
that  as  soon  as  it  was  ready  for  him  he  should  come  and 
inhabit  the  Pavilion  du  Roi  ;  but  the  square  was  unfinished 


PLACE   DES   VOSGES  l8i 

at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1610,  and  it  was  only  opened 
with  great  magnificence  five  years  later,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  marriage  of  î^lizabeth,  sister  of  Louis  XllL,  with 
the  Infant  of  Spain.  It  was  the  splendid  court  fête  then 
given  which  made  the  new  square  become  at  once  the 
fashion,  and  the  Place  Royale  remained  the  centre  of  all 
that  was  most  aristocratic,  till  the  financial  world  invaded 
it  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  the  proudest 
time  of  the  square,  however,  the  celebrated  Marion  de 
Lorme  inhabited  the  pavilion  which  had  been  purchased 
by  the  Due  de  la  Meilleraie,  and  there  she  died  in  1650, 
and,  in  the  words  of  Tallemant  des  Réaux,  "  On  la  vit 
morte,  durant  vingt-quatre  heures,  sur  son  lit  avec  une 
couronne  de  pucelle." 

With  the  comparative  lawlessness  of  the  times,  though 
Louis  XIII.  had  issued  severe  ordinances  for  the  repres- 
sion of  dueling,  not  only  were  duels  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  Place  Royale,  but  the  balconies  and  windows  of  the 
square  used  to  be  filled  with  spectators  to  witness  them, 
like  a  theatrical  representation  in  broad  daylight.  Six  of 
the  noblest  young  gentlemen  of  the  Court  fought  thus, 
with  fatal  results,  on  May  12,  1627.  The  last  duel  in  the 
Place  Royale  was  that  of  the  Due  de  Guise  and  the  Comte 
de  Coligny,  in  December,  1643,  ^^  decide  the  hereditary 
quarrels  of  their  two  houses,  which  ended  fatally  for  the 
latter.  As  a  warning  and  menace  to  duellists,  Richelieu 
erected,  in  the  centre  of  the  square,  a  statue  by  Biard  fils 
of  Louis  XIII. — "le  très-grand,  très-invincible,  Louis  le 
Juste,"  "armed  after  the  mode  of  his  age,  and  his  plume 
of  feathers  on  his  head-piece,"  as  the  traveller  Lister 
described  it  (1698).  The  figure  was  placed  upon  a  horse 
which  had  been  unemployed  for  three  quarters  of  a  cent- 
ury, but  was  the  work  of  Daniele  Ricciarelli  da  Volterra. 


1 82  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  famous  statue,  which  stood  on  a  pedestal  with  proud 
inscriptions  by  the  cardinal  in  honor  of  his  master,  was 
melted  down  for  cannon  in  the  Revolution  of  1793.  In 
1 70 1  a  magnificent  iron  grille,  bearing  the  emblems  of 
Louis  XIV.,  had  been  placed  around  the  gardens.  Even 
the  Revolution  itself  respected  its  beauty  ;  but,  in  spite  of 
the  eloquent  remonstrances  of  Victor  Hugo  (who  was  then 
living  at  No.  6,  the  house  where  Marion  de  Lorme  died), 
it  was  removed  in  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe  to  make 
way  for  a  cast-iron  railing  in  the  commonplace  taste  of  the 
time. 

"  How  many  public  and  domestic  events  has  this  Place  not 
seen  during  all  the  seventeenth  century  !  What  noble  tourna- 
ments, what  haughty  duels,  what  loving  meetings  !  What  con- 
versations has  it  not  heard,  worthy  of  those  of  the  Decameron, 
which  Corneille  collected  in  one  of  his  earlier  comedies,  La  Place 
Royale,  and  in  several  acts  of  Le  Menteur  !  What  graceful  creat- 
ures have  dwelt  in  these  pavilions  !  What  sumptuous  furniture, 
what  treasures  of  elegant  luxury  have  not  been  assembled  here  ! 
What  illustrious  personages  of  all  kinds  have  mounted  these 
beautiful  stairs  !  Richelieu  and  Condé,  Corneille  and  Molière 
have  passed  here  a  hundred  times.  It  was  while  walking  in  this 
gallery  that  Descartes,  conversing  with  Pascal,  suggested  to  him 
the  idea  of  his  beautiful  experiments  on  the  weight  of  the  air  ; 
here,  too,  one  evening,  on  leaving  the  house  of  Mme  de  Gué- 
ménée,  the  melancholy  De  Thou  received  from  Cinq-Mars  the 
involuntary  confession  of  the  conspiracy  which  was  to  bring 
them  both  to  the  scaffold.  Here,  to  conclude,  Mme  de  Sévigné 
was  born,  and  near  here  she  lived." — Victor  Cousin,  ^'  Lajetmesse 
de  AI  me  de  Longueville." 

Many  of  the  hotels  of  the  Place  Royale  were  like 
museums  of  historic  relics  and  works  of  art,  especially  that 
of  Richelieu  and  that  of  the  Marquis  de  Dangeau.  The 
ceilings  of  the  hotel  of  M.  de  Nouveau  were  painted 
by  Lebrun  and  Mignard.  Houses  were  furnished  with  the 
utmost  magnificence  by  the  Comte  de  Tresmes,  the  Mar- 


PLACE  DES  VOSGES 


183 


qiiis  de  Breteuil,  and  the  Marquis  de  Canillac  ;  but  most 
of  these  hotels  were  already  abandoned  by  their  aristo- 
cratic owners  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  when  the 
Comte  de  Favras,  who  had  only  lately  settled  in  the  Place 
Royale,  was  accused  of  plotting  against  the  government, 


.€^&\ 


PLACE  DES   VOSGES. 


and  hanged  like  a  common  malefactor.  Many  think  that 
the  golden  period  of  the  Place  did  not  arrive  till  it  became 
the  centre  of  the  Society  of  the  Nouvelles  Précieuses  (de- 
serters from  the  superior  literary  atmosphere  of  the  Hôtel  de 
Rambouillet),  which  Molière  satirizes  in  his  comedy  of  the 
Précieuses  ridicules.  One  of  the  leaders  of  this  society  was 
Mile  de  Scudéry,  authoress  of  the  long  allegorical  romance 
of  Cyrus,  who  came  to  settle  in  the  Rue  de  Beauce,  and 
whose  Saturdays  soon  became  the  fashion,  "pour  recon- 
trer  des  beaux  esprits."  For  thirty  years,  under  the  name 
of  Sapho,  she  ruled  as  a  queen  in  the  second-class  literary 
salons  of  the  Marais,  which  was  known  as  Leolie  or  I'Eolie 
in  the  dialect  of  the  Précieuses,  when  the  Place  Dorique, 
as  they  called  the  Place  Royale,  was  inhabited  by  Artémise 


1 84  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

or  Mile  Aragonois,  Roxane  or  Mile  Robineau,  Glicerie  or 
the  beautiful  Mile  Legendre  ;  whilst  Le  gra7id  Diction- 
naire des  Précieuses  (1661)  informs  us  that  Crisolis  or  Mile 
de  Chavigny,  and  Nidalie  or  Mile  de  l'Enclos,  lived  close 
by.  Molière  had  full  opportunity  of  studying  the  eccen- 
tricities of  this  society  whilst  living  in  the  quarter  of  the 
Arsenal  in  1645. 

"  Our  heroes  and  heroines  are  devoted  entirely  to  madrigals. 
Never  were  so  many  made,  or  so  rapidl)^  This  man  has  scarcely 
recited  one,  when  that  man  feels  another  stirring  in  his  brain. 
Here,  four  verses  are  repeated  ;  there  some  one  is  writing  twelve. 
All  was  done  gaily  and  without  grimaces.  No  one  bit  his  nails 
or  lost  his  part  in  the  laughter  or  the  \2i\\i:'—PeUisson,  '' Chro- 
tiiques  du  Sa??iedi.'^ 

The  Place  Royale,  with  its  high-roofed  houses  of  red 
brick  coped  with  stone,  surmounted  by  high  roofs,  and 
supported  by  arcades — the  famous  arcades  where  Cor- 
neille places  the  scene  of  one  of  his  comedies— has  never 
changed  its  ancient  aspect.  No.  21  was  the  house  of 
Richelieu.  In  No.  9,  which  she  had  furnished  splendidly, 
the  great  come'dienne,  Mme  Rachel,  lay  in  state.  A  statue 
of  Charles  X.  by  Carot,  on  a  horse  by  Dupaty,  now  takes 
the  place  of  the  statue  of  Louis  XIII.  in  the  centre  of  the 
square— an  excellent  example  of  the  most  deplorable  stat- 
uary. Many  of  the  old  contemporar)^  hotels  which  occu- 
pied the  precincts  of  the  Place  have  been  destroyed. 
Nothing  remains  of  the  Hôtel  Nicolaï,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Rue  de  Turenne,  or  of  the  Hôtel  de  St.  Géran,  in  the 
Rue  du  Parc-Royal.  The  Hôtel  de  Gue'ménée  can  no 
longer  be  distinguished  from  an  ordinary  house. 

Running  east  from  the  upper  side  of  the  square  is  the 
Rue  des  Vosges,  till  recently  Rue  Pas-de-la-Mule.  Here 
Gilles  le  Maistre,  first  president  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris, 


RUE  DES    ro  URN  ELLES  185 

was  daily  seen  passing  on  his  mule,  followed  by  his  wife 
in  a  cart,  and  a  servant  on  an  ass. 

On  the  further  side  of  the  Rue  des  Toiirnelks  which 
runs  behind  the  houses  on  the  east  side  of  the  Place  des 
Vosges  we  may  still  visit  (No.  28)  the  handsome  Hbtel  of 
Nino7i  de  /'^;;^/^j-— l'Eternelle  Ninon — the  friend  of  St. 
Evremond  and  the  Duchesse  de  Mazarin,  at  whose  beau- 
tiful feet  three  generations  of  the  proud  house  of  Sevignc 
knelt  in  turn,  and  who  may  be  regarded  as  the  last  of  the 
Précieuses  of  the  Marais  and  Place  Royale.  The  vestibule 
of  the  hotel  retains  its  masks  and  caryatides  ;  the  boudoir 
its  painted  ceiling;  the  staircase  has  only  changed  its 
stone  balustrade  for  one  of  wood,  and  a  well-preserved 
medallion  of  Louis  XIV.  remains  in  its  place  ;  the  salon 
on  the  first  floor  has  a  ceiling-painting  of  Apollo  sur- 
rounded by  the  nine  muses,  by  a  pupil  of  Lebrun. 

"Ninon,  the  famous  courtesan,  known,  when  age  made  her 
quit  that  profession,  as  Mile  de  l'Enclos,  was  a  fresh  example  of 
the  triumph  of  vice  conducted  with  wit  and  talent  and  relieved 
by  some  virtues.  The  noise  she  made,  and,  still  more,  the  dis- 
order she  caused  among  the  highest  and  most  brilliant  )'oung 
men,  compelled  the  queen-mother,  in  spite  of  the  extreme  indul- 
gence which,  not  without  cause,  she  had  for  persons  of  gallantry 
and  more  than  gallantry,  to  send  her  an  order  to  retire  to  a  con- 
vent. One  of  the  exempts  of  Paris  carried  to  her  the  lettre  de 
cachet  ;  she  read  it,  and  remarking  that  no  convent  was  especially 
designated,  she  said  to  the  exempt,  without  being  at  all  discon- 
certed, '  Monsieur,  since  the  queen  has  been  good  enough  to 
leave  to  me  the  choice  of  the  convent  into  which  she  wishes  me 
to  retire,  I  beg  of  you  to  tell  her  that  I  choose  that  of  the  Grands 
Cordeliers  of  Paris,'  and  she  returned  the  lettre  de  cachet  with  a  fine 
courtesy.  The  exempt,  stupefied  at  this  unparalleled  effrontery, 
had  not  a  word  to  reply,  and  the  queen  found  it  so  amusing  that 
she  left  her  in  repose. 

"  Ninon  had  illustrious  friends  of  all  sorts,  and  had  such 
talent,  that  she  preserved  them  all  and  kept  them  in  harmony 
among  themselves,  or  at  least  without  any  open  disturbance.     In 


1 86  IVALJ^S  IN  PARIS 

all  her  proceedings  there  was  an  air  of  external  decency  and  de- 
corum such  as  the  highest  princesses  rarely  maintain  when  they 
have  weaknesses.  She  had,  by  good  fortune,  as  friends  all  that 
was  most  elevated  and  most  trusted  at  the  court,  so  that  it  be- 
came the  fashion  to  be  introduced  to  her,  and,  with  good  reason, 
for  the  sake  of  the  connections  formed  at  her  house.  No  gam- 
bling, no  loud  laughter,  no  disputes,  no  talk  of  religion  or  the 
government  ;  much  wit  with  brilliancy,  stories  old  and  new,  stories 
of  gallantry,  always  without  opening  a  door  to  slander  ;  every- 
thing was  refined,  light,  and  measured  and  formed  conversations, 
which  she  knew  how  to  sustain  by  her  wit  and  by  her  knowledge 
of  the  events  of  every  age.  The  consideration,  an  extraordinary 
thing,  which  she  acquired,  the  number  and  distinction  of  her 
friends  and  acquaintances  continued  to  attract  the  world  to  her 
when  her  charms  had  faded,  and  when  propriety  and  fashion 
forbade  her  any  longer  to  mix  the  carnal  and  the  intellectual. 
She  knew  all  the  intrigues  of  the  old  and  of  the  new  court,  seri- 
ous or  otherwise  ;  her  conversation  was  charming  ;  she  was  dis- 
interested, faithful,  secret,  trustworthy  to  the  last  degree  or  al- 
most to  weakness,  and  she  could  be  described  as  virtuous  and 
full  of  probity." — St.  Si?non. 

"  L'indulgence  et  sage  nature 
A  formé  l'âme  de  Ninon, 
De  la  volupté  d'Epicure 
Et  de  la  vertu  de  Caton." — St.  Evrei7iond. 

From  hence  the  Boulevard  Beaumarchais.,  remarkable 
for  its  antiquity  shops,  and  the  Boulevard  des  Filles  du 
Calvaire,  named  from  a  monastery  founded  1633  by  Père 
Joseph,  the  friend  of  Richelieu,  and  suppressed  1790,  run 
north-west  to  join  the  Boulevard  du  Temple. 

The  south  end  of  the  Rue  des  Tournelles  falls  into  the 
Place  de  la  Bastille,  containing  La  Colonne  de  Juillet,  sur- 
mounted by  a  statue  of  Liberty,  and  erected  1831-1840. 
This  marks  the  site  of  the  famous  castle-prison  of  the  Bas- 
tille, which  for  four  centuries  and  a  half  terrified  Paris, 
and  which  has  left  a  name  to  the  quarter  it  frowned  upon. 
Hugues  Aubriot,  Mayor  of  Paris,  built  it  under  Charles  V. 


PLACE   DE  LA    BASTILLE  187 

to  defend  the  suburb  which  contained  the  royal  palace  of 
St.  Paul.  Unpopular  from  the  excess  of  his  devotion  to 
his  royal  master,  Aubriot  was  the  first  prisoner  in  his  own 
prison.  Perhaps  the  most  celebrated  of  the  long  list  of 
after  captives  were  the  Connétable  de  St.  Pol  and  Jacques 
d'Armagnac,  Duc  de  Nemours,  taken  thence  for  execution  to 
the  Place  de  Grève  under  Louis  XL  ;  Charles  de  Gontaut, 
Due  de  Biron,  executed  within  the  walls  of  the  fortress 
under  Henri  IV.;  and  the  "Man  with  the  Iron  Mask," 
brought  hither  mysteriously,  September  18,  1698,  and  who 
died  in  the  Bastille,  November  19,  1703. 

A  thousand  engravings  show  us  the  Bastille  as  it  was— 
as  a  fort-bastide—hvMx.  on  the  line  of  the  city  walls  just  to 
the  south  of  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  surrounded  by  its  own 
moat.  It  consisted  of  eight  round  towers,  each  bearing  a 
characteristic  name,  connected  by  massive  walls,  ten  feet 
thick,  pierced  with  narrow  slits  by  which  the  cells  were 
lighted.  In  early  times  it  had  entrances  on  three  sides, 
but  after  1580  only  one,  with  a  drawbridge  over  the  moat 
on  the  side  towards  the  river,  which  led  to  outer  courts 
and  a  second  drawbridge,  and  wound  by  a  defended 
passage  to  an  outer  entrance  opposite  the  Rue  des  Tour- 

nelles.^ 

Close  beside  the  Bastille,  to  the  north,  rose  the  Porte 
St.  Antoine,  approached  over  the  city  fosse  by  its  own 
bridge,  at  the  outer  end  of  which  was  a  triumphal  arch 
built  on  the  return  of  Henri  III.  from  Poland  in  1573- 
Both  gate  and  arch  were  restored  for  the  triumphal  entry 
of  Louis  XIV.  in  1667  ;  but  the  gate  (before  which  Etienne 
Marcel  was  killed,  July,  1358).  was  pulled  down  in  1674. 

The  Bastille  was  taken  by  the  people,  July  14,  1789» 
and  the  National  Assembly  decreed  its  demolition. 

>  See  the  plans  and  views  in  Paris  à  travers  les  âges. 


i88  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

"About  eleven  o'clock  the  attack  became  serious,  and  the 
people  had  carried  the  first  bridge.  Then  M.  de  Launay,  the 
governor,  gave  orders  to  fire  ;  it  was  obej^ed,  and  the  discharge 
dispersed  the  multitude.  It  returned  soon,  enraged  and  more 
numerous.  They  were  driven  back  afresh  by  a  discharge  of 
grape-shot,  but  the  arrival  of  a  detachment  of  Gardes  Françaises, 
who  joined  the  assailants,  shook  the  courage  of  the  garrison, 
and  it  began  to  speak  of  surrender.  M.  de  Flue,  commandant 
of  the  thirty-two  soldiers  of  Salis,  declared  he  would  prefer  death. 
M.  de  Launay,  seeing  that  the  garrison  was  ready  to  abandon 
him,  took  the  match  of  a  cannon  to  set  fire  to  ihe  magazine,  which 
would  have  blown  up  a  part  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine.  Two 
non-commissioned  officers  prevented  him.  In  a  council  held  on 
the  spot  he  proposed  to  blow  up  the  fortress  rather  than  fall  into 
the  hands  of  a  furious  populace  that  would  massacre  the  garrison. 
This  proposition  was  rejected.  M.  de  Flue  demanded  from  the 
beseigers  terms  of  capitulation,  promising  to  lower  the  draw- 
bridges and  lay  down  arms  if  the  lives  of  the  beseiged  were 
spared.  An  officer  of  the  Queen's  Regiment,  one  of  the  com- 
mandants, and  nearest  the  fortress,  promised  this  on  his  honor. 
The  bridges  were  at  once  lowered,  and  the  people  entered  without 
difficulty.  Its  first  task  was  to  search  for  the  governor.  He  was 
seized,  and,  in  despite  of  the  capitulation,  the  unfortunate  man 
was  laden  with  insults  and  ill-treatment  from  the  Bastille  as  far 
as  the  Arcade  de  St.  Jean,  where  he  was  murdered." — Détails 
donnés  par  M.  d^Agay. 

The  massive  circular  pedestal  upon  which  the  Colonne 
de  Juillet  now  rests  was  intended  by  Napoleon  I.  to  sup- 
port a  gigantic  fountain  in  the  form  of  an  elephant, 
instead  of  the  column  which,  after  the  destruction  of  the 
Bastille,  the  "  tiers  état  "  of  Paris  had  asked  to  erect  "  à 
Louis  XVI.,  restaurateur  de  la  liberté  publique."  It  is 
characteristic  of  the  Parisians  that  on  the  very  same  spot 
the  throne  of  Louis  Philippe  was  publicly  burnt,  February 
24,  1848.  The  model  for  the  intended  elephant  existed 
here  till  the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  and  is 
depicted  by  Victor  Hugo  as  the  lodging  of  "Le  petit 
Gavroche." 


PLACE   DE   LA    BASTILLE  igo 

"This  monument,  rude,  broad,  heavy,  rough,  austere,  and 
almost  shapeless,  but  most  assuredly  majestic,  and  imprinted  with 
a  species  of  magnificent  and  savage  gravity,  has  disappeared  to 
allow  the  sort  of  gigantic  stove,  adorned  with  its  chimney-pot,  to 
reign  in  peace,  which  was  substituted  for  the  frowning  fortalice 
with  its  nine  towers,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  bourgeoisie  are 
substituted  for  feudalism.  It  is  very  simple  that  a  stove  should 
be  the  symbol  of  an  epoch  in  which  a  kettle  contains  the  power. 

"The  architect  of  the  elephant  managed  to  produce  some- 
thing grand  with  plaster,  while  the  architect  of  the  stove-pipe  has 
succeeded  in  making  something  little  out  of  bronze.  This  stove- 
pipe, this  spoiled  monument  of  an  abortive  revolution,  was 
christened  a  sonorous  name,  and  called  the  Column  of  July."^ — 
Les  Misérables. 

Looking  on  to  the  Bastille  stood  the  Hôtel  de  Beaumar- 
chais, built  by  the  author  of  Le  Mariage  de  Figaro,  the 
famous  satire  upon  the  Court  of  Louis  XVI.,  who,  when 
he  read  it  in  MS.,. exclaimed,  "Si  l'on  jouait  cette  pièce, 
il  faudrait  de'truire  la  Bastille  !  on  ne  la  jouera  jamais  !  " 
yet  which  all  the  great  world  witnessed  immediately  after 
at  the  Théâtre  Français.  The  gardens  of  the  hotel  are 
now  covered  by  warehouses. 

"The  Hôtel  de  Beaumarchais,  erected  on  the  designs  of  Le 
Moine,  is,  I  believe,  meant  to  be  a  perfect  rtisin  urbe,  for  wilder- 
nesses, grottoes,  subterranean  caverns,  and  gurgling  fountains, 
are  all  assembled  in  a  space  not  much  larger  than  that  usually 
assigned  to  the  flower-knot  of  an  English  villa.  A  very  pretty 
temple  is  raised  to  the  memory  of  Voltaire  ;  and  under  the  shade 
of  a  willow,  marked  by  an  urn  filled  with  the  golden  flowers  of 
l'immortelle,  repose  the  ashes  of  Beaumarchais  himself." — Lady 
Morgan^ s  ^^  France." 

The  Boulevard  Henri  IV.,  running  south-west  from  the 
Place  de  la  Bastille  to  the  Quartier  de  l'Arsenal,  destroys 
many  associations.  It  is  more  interesting  to  reach  the 
same  point  by  a  more  circuitous  route,  re-entering  the 
Marais  by  the  picturesque  Rue  St.  Antoine,  which  is  on  a 

'  Designed  by  Alavoine,  executed  by  Due. 


igo 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


direct  line  with  the  Rue  de  Rivoli.  No  street  is  more 
connected  with  the  story  of  the  different  revolutions  than 
this,  and,  from  its  neighborhood  to  the  two  royal  hotels  of 
Des  Tournelles  and  St.  Paul,  none  is  more  associated 
with  the  early  history  of  France.  It  was  here  that  Henry 
II.,  tilting  in  a  tournament,  received  his  death-wound. 

"  The  joyous  sounds  on  the  occasion  of  the  double  marriage 
of  the  princesses  of  France  were  to  be  soon  extinguished  in  the 
silence  of  death.  On  the  20th  of  June,  Madame  Elizabeth  of 
France  was  married  at  Notre  -Dame  to  the  Duke  of  Alba,  as 
proxy  of  the  King  of  Spain  ;  on  the  27th  the  contract  between  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  and  Madame  Marguerite  was  signed.  Splendid 
lists  were  erected  at  the  end  of  the  Rue  St.  Antoine,  before  the 
Royal  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  and  near  the  foot  of  the  Bastille,  in 
which  the  magistrates,  torn  from  the  bench,  were  confined  ;  for 
three  days  princes  and  lords  were  jousting  there  in  presence  of 
the  ladies  ;  on  the  2gth  of  June,  the  defenders  of  the  lists  were 
the  Dukes  of  Guise  and  Nemours,  the  son  of  the  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  and  the  king  himself,  wearing  the  colors  of  his  sixty- 
year-old  lady,  the  black  and  white  livery  of  widows,  which  Diana 
never  laid  aside.  When  the  passage  of  arms  was  finished,  the 
king,  who  had  ridden  some  courses  as  a  '  stout  and  skilful 
knight,'  wished  to  break  another  spear  before  retiring,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  prayers  of  the  queen,  he  ordered  the  Count  de  Mont- 
gommeri  to  ride  against  him.  He  was  the  captain  of  the  guards, 
who  had  brought  Du  Bourg  and  Du  Faur  to  the  Bastille.  Mont- 
gommeri  in  vain  endeavored  to  excuse  himself.  The  two  jousters 
charged  each  other  violently,  and  broke  their  lances  with  dexterity, 
but  Montgommeri  forgot  to  throw  at  once,  as  was  usual,  the  frag- 
ment remaining  in  his  hand  ;  he  involuntaril}'-  struck  with  it  the 
king's  helmet,  raised  the  vizor,  and  sent  a  splinter  of  wood  into 
the  eye.  The  king  fell  on  the  neck  of  his  horse,  which  bore  him  to 
the  end  of  the  course  ;  his  squires  received  him  in  their  arms,  and 
he  was  carried  to  the  Tournelles  in  the  midst  of  unspeakable 
confusion  and  alarm.  All  the  resources  of  art  were  useless,  the 
splinter  had  penetrated  the  brain  ;  the  illustrious  Vesalius  in 
vain  hurried  from  Brussels  by  order  of  King  Philip  H.  ;  Henri 
languished  eleven  days,  and  expired  on  the  loth  of  July,  after 
having  ordered  the  celebration,  on  the  day  before  his  death  and 
in  his  chamber,  of  the  marriage  of  his  sister  Margaret  and  the  Duke 


EGLISE   DE    LA    VISITATION  191 

of  Savoy,  He  was  forty  years  and  a  few  months  old.  i\ll  Prot- 
estant Europe  recognized  the  arm  of  the  Lord  in  this  lightning 
stroke  which  smote  the  persecuting  king  in  the  midst  of  the 
festivities  of  the  'impious.'" — Henri  Martin  ^  ''Hist,  de  France" 

On  the  left  is  the  former  Church  of  the  Visitation, 
adding  everywhere  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  street  by 
the  marvellous  grace  of  its  outline,  now,  as  the  Temple  St. 
Marie,  given  to  the  Calvinists.  The  Visitandines  were 
brought  from  Annecy  to  Paris  by  Sainte  Marie  Chantai. 
They  bought  the  Hôtel  de  Cosse,  where  their  admirable 
domed  church  was  begun  by  François  Mansart  in  1632, 
and  dedicated,  in  1634,  to  Notre  Dame  des  Anges.  André 
Fremiot,  Archbishop  of  Bourges,  brother  of  the  foundress, 
Baronne  de  Chantai,  rested  in  one  of  its  chapels  ;  in  an- 
other lay  the  minister  Fouquet,  celebrated  for  his  sudden 
disgrace  and  imprisonment  in  1680  ;  in  its  crypt  were  a 
number  of  coffins  of  the  house  of  Sévigné.  The  church 
occupies  the  site  of  the  Hôtel  de  Boissy,  where  for  thirty- 
three  days  Henri  IH.  watched  by  his  dying  "  Mignon  " 
Quélus,  mortally  wounded  in  the  great  duel  of  April  27, 
1578,  promising  100,000  francs  to  the  surgeons  in  atten- 
dance if  they  could  save  the  life  of  one  to  whom  he  bore 
*'  une  merveilleuse  amitié."  But  it  was  of  no  use,  and 
when  Quélus  had  breathed  his  last,  crying  out,  "  Oh,  mon 
roi,  mon  roi  !  "  it  was  the  king  who,  with  his  own  hands, 
took  out  the  earrings  he  had  given  him,  and  cut  off  his 
long  chestnut  hair. 

Within  two  doors  of  the  church  (No.  212)  is  the  Hotel 
de  Mayenne,  or  iV  Ormesson,  or  du  Fetit-Musc^  a  very  hand- 
some house  built  by  Du  Cerceau  for  the  Due  de  Mayenne, 
and  afterwards  inhabited  by  the  Président  d'Ormesson. 
It  now  belongs  to  the  Frères  des  Ecoles  Chrétiennes. 

A  little  further  down  the  street,  on  the  right  (No.  143), 


192 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


is  the  finest  of  all  the  ancient  hotels  which  still  remain  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Place  Royale,  that  of  the  great 
minister  who  superintended  its  erection.  The  Hôtel  de 
Sully  or  de  Béthime  was  built  from  designs  of  Androuet  du 
Cerceau  for  Maximilien  de  Be'thune,  Due  de  Sully,  the 
friend  and  minister  of  Henri  IV.,  upon  part  of  the  site  of 
the  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  with  the  fortune  he  made  in  the 
king's  service. 


"  'Give  me,'  wrote  the  king,  'your  word  and  honor  to  be  as 
good  a  manager  of  my  property  for  my  profit  as  I  have  always 
seen  you  to  be  of  your  own,  and  not  to  desire  to  increase  your 
own  except  with  my  knowledge  and  by  my  liberality,  which  will 
be  ample  enough  to  satisfy  a  man  of  honor  and  a  mind  as  well 
regulated  as  )-ours.'" — Œccnomies  royales,  i.  207. 

The  rich  front  of  the  hotel  still  looks  down  upon  the 
Rue  St.  Antoine,  and  the  four  sides  of  its  stately  court  are 
magnificently  adorned  with  sculptures  of  armor  and 
figures  of  the  Four  Seasons  ;  masques  and  leaves  decorate 


HOT  KL   DE    SULLY 


193 


its  windows.  The  noble  saloon  on  the  first  floor  has 
remains  of  the  monogram  of  Sully  ;  in  another  room  is  an 
ancient  mosaic  pavement.  After  Sully  the  hotel  belonged 
to  Turgot,  then  to  Boisgelin,  by  whose  name  it  is  still 
often  known.  Two  other  ancient  hotels  remain  in  this 
part  of  the  Rue  St.  Antoine.  One  is  the  picturesque 
Hotel  de  Beauvais  (No.  62),  built  by  Antoine  Lepautre  for 
Pierre  de  Beauvais.  His  wife,  Catherine  Bellier,  who  was 
first  waiting-woman  to  Anne  of  Austria,  is  commemorated 
in  the  heads  of  rams  {tctes  de  bélier)  which  alternate  with 
those  of  lions  in  the  decorations.  Catherine  owed  so 
much  to  Anne  of  Austria  that  it  used  to  be  a  saying  that 
she  had  taken  the  stones  of  the  Louvre  to  build  her  house 
with.  The  oval  court  has  masks  and  pilasters  ;  the  vesti- 
bule has  doric  columns  sustaining  trophies  ;  a  staircase, 
with  Corinthian  columns,  bas-reliefs,  and  a  rich  balustrade, 
leads  to  the  principal  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  from  one  of 
which,  on  August  26,  1660,  Anne  of  Austria  watched  the 
triumphal  entrance  into  the  capital  of  Louis  XIV.  ai^d 
Marie  Thérèse.  At  No.  162  is  the  Passage  St.  Pierre,  on 
the  site  of  the  Prison  of  the  Grange  St.  Eloy.  On  its  way 
to  the  Rue  St.  Paul  it  traverses  part  of  the  ancient  XV.  c. 
cloister  of  St.  Paul,  supported  by  solid  buttresses,  and 
ceiled  with  timber  in  panels. 

Opposite  the  Hôtel  de  Sully,  the  'Rue  de  St.  Paul  leads 
from  the  Rue  St.  Antoine  into  the  ancient  Quartier  de  St. 
Paul,  which,  with  the  adjoining  Quartier  de  l'Arsenal,  were 
suburbs  of  the  city  before  they  were  included  within  the 
walls  of  Charles  V.  and  thus  united  to  the  Northern  part 
of  the  town.  The  quarter  was  chiefly  inhabited  by  those 
who  were  "  hommes  d'eau,'^  or  persons  whose  interests  lay 
in  the  part  of  the  Seine  upon  which  it  abutted,  being  the 
place  where  all  the  boats  coming  from  the  upper  Seine  and 


194  ÎVALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  Marne  were  moored  for  the  lading  and  unlading  of 
their  merchandise.  The  great  Port  de  St.  Paul  took  its 
name  from  a  church,  which  dated  from  the  VII.  c,  and  it 
was  divided  into  several  smaller  ports,  each  of  which  had 
its  own  name  and  destination,  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  confraternity  of  Marchands  de  feau.  In  this  mer- 
cantile quarter  three  great  religious  establishments  were 
situated — the  church  of  St.  Paul,  the  convent  of  Ave 
Maria,  and  the  convent  of  the  Celestins.  The  church  was 
founded  in  633  by  St.  Eloy,  prime  minister  of  the  Merovin- 
gian King  Dagobert.  But  this  building,  which  contained 
the  tomb  of  the  sainted  abbot  Quintilianus,  was  only  a 
chapel  on  the  site  of  the  existing  Rue  de  St.  Paul,  in  a 
spot  once  called  Grange  of  St.  Eloy.  Its  cemetery,  which 
extended  as  far  as  the  Rue  Beautreillis,  was  intended  as  a 
burial-place  for  the  nuns  of  the  great  monastery  of  St. 
Martial,  which  St.  Eloy  had  founded  in  the  Cité,  for,  at 
that  time,  in  accordance  with  the  pagan  custom,  all  burials 
took  place  outside  the  town.  It  was  only  at  the  end  of 
the  XL  c.  that  the  church  of  St.  Paul  les  Champs  became 
parochial.  Charles  V.  rebuilt  it  in  the  severe  gothic  style, 
and  it  was  reconsecrated  with  great  magnificence  in  143 1. 
Its  entrance,  on  the  Rue  St.  Paul,  had  three  gothic  portals, 
beneath  a  tower  surmounted  by  a  lofty  spire.  Its  win- 
dows were  of  great  beauty,  and  were  not  finished  till  the 
close  of  Charles  VII.'s  reign,  for  amongst  the  personages 
represented  in  them  was  the  Maid  of  Orleans,  with  the 
legend,  Et  moy  le  Roy.  Through  its  neighborhood  to  Vin- 
cennes  and  afterwards  to  the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul  and  the 
Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  the  royal  church  of  St.  Paul  was  for 
several  centuries  the  paroisse  du  roi.  All  the  dauphins, 
from  the  reign  of  Philippe  de  Valois  to  that  of  Louis  XL, 
were  baptized  there,  in  a  font  which  still  exists  at  Medan, 


S7\    PAUL   LES   CHAMPS  195 

near  Poissy,  whither  it  was  removed  by  one  Henri  Per- 
drier,  Alderman  of  Paris,  when  the  old  church  was  rebuilt. 
It  became  a  point  of  ambition  with  the  illustrious  persons 
of  the  Court  to  be  buried  either  in  its  cemetery  or  in  its 
side  chapels,  which  they  had  themselves  adorned  with 
sculpture,  hangings,  or  stained  glass.  The  cloisters  were 
approached  by  an  avenue  (the  present  Passage  St.  Pierre) 
and  exhibited  in  themselves  all  the  different  periods  of 
gothic  architecture,  as  these  buildings  were  only  completed 
in  the  XVI.  c.  ;  decorations  were  even  added  to  them  under 
Louis  XIV.  Their  galleries  had  stained  windows,  by  Pi- 
naigrier,  Porcher,  and  Nicolas  Desangives.  In  the  church 
the  earliest  recorded  epitaph  is  that  of  Denisette  la  Berti- 
chiere,  laundry-maid  to  the  king,  13 11.  The  splendid 
Chapelle  de  la  Communion  was  the  burial-place  of  the 
House  of  Noailles.  The  name  Sérail  des  Mignons  was  at 
one  time  given  to  the  church  from  the  mignons  of  Henry 
III. — Quelus,  Maugiron,  and  Saint-Megrin  ^ — buried  there. 
The  king  erected  magnificent  tombs  to  them  ;  but  their 
statues  were  destroyed  in  1588  by  the  people,  led  on  by 
the  preaching  of  the  monks,  who  were  infuriated  at  the 
murder  of  the  Guises.  In  the  choir  lay  Robert  Ceneau 
(Cenalis),  Bishop  of  Avranches,  who  died,  April  27,  1560, 
''en  expurgant  les  heresies."  Nicole  Gilles,  the  historian 
of  the  Annales  de  France,  was  buried  in  the  chapel  of  St. 
Louis,  which  he  had  built  de  ses  deniers.  Pierre  Biard, 
sculptor  and  architect;  the  famous  architect  François 
Mansart,  and  his  nephew  Jules  Hardouin  ;  Jean  Nicot, 
ambassador  of  France  in  Portugal,  and  the  importer  of 
tobacco,  called  at  first  la  iiicotiana  in  his  honor  ;  the  philos- 
opher   Pierre    Sylvain    Régis,    and    Adrien    Baillet,    the 

^  Saint-Megrin,  who  was  looked  upon  as  the  mignon  of  the  Duchesse  de 
Guise,  was  murdered  by  her  brother-in-law,  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  m  the  Rue 
St.  Honoré,  July  21,  1578. 


1^6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

learned  librarian  of  the  Président  de  Lamoignon,  were 
also  buried  here.  Under  an  old  fig-tree  in  the  cemetery 
was  the  grave  of  François  Rabelais,  curé  of  Meudon,  who 
died  (April  9,  1553)  in  the  Rue  des  Jardins,  and  was  laid 
here  because  he  was  connected  with  the  parish  as  priest  or 
canon  of  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Maur  des  Fossés. 

'*  Rabelais  received  the  viaticum  before  dying,  but  at  the  mo- 
ment of  extreme  unction,  he  could  not  refrain  from  saying  that 
they  were  greasing  his  boots  for  a  long  journey.  He  left,  it  is 
said,  duly  signed  and  sealed,  a  will  thus  conceived  :  '  I  have  no 
money,  I  owe  much  ;  I  leave  the  rest  to  the  poor."  Two  other 
sayings,  quite  in  character,  are  attributed  to  him  :  '  I  am  going 
in  search  of  a  great  perhaps,'  and  then  with  a  burst  of  laughter, 
'  Down  with  the  curtain,  the  farce  is  over.'" — P.  Barrère,  ''Les 
e'crivains  Français." 

The  body  of  Charles  de  Gontaut,  Due  de  Biron,  exe- 
cuted in  the  Bastille  under  Henri  IV.,  was  brought  to  the 
churchyard  of  St.  Paul,  with  that  of  the  "  Man  with  the 
Iron  Mask,"  who  died  in  the  Bastille  in  1703,  and  here 
also  were  buried  the  four  skeletons  which  were  found 
chained  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Bastille  in  June,  1790. 
One  year  more  and  both  church  and  cemetery  were  closed  ; 
they  were  sold  as  national  property  in  December,  1794, 
and  two  years  afterwards  they  were  demolished  for  house- 
building:. The  crowded  bodies  which  formed  the  foun- 
dation  were  not  removed  before  the  hurried  erection  of 
Nos.  30,  32,  34  of  the  Rue  St.  Paul,  for  fifty  years  later 
the  proprietors,  making  new  cellars,  came  upon  masses  of 
bones,  and  even  entire  cofBns,  in  lead  and  wood. 

The  convent  of  the  Ave  Maria  only  received  that 
name  under  Louis  XI.  It  was  originally  occupied  by 
Béguines,  brought  by  Louis  IX.  from  Nivelle  in  Flanders 
in  1230.  Gradually  the  number  of  these  uncloistered  nuns 
(who  took  their  name  from  St.  Bague,  daughter  of  a  maire 


ST.    PAUL   LES   CHAMPS 


197 


du  palais  of  King  Sigebert)  amounted  to  four  hundred, 
known  in  Paris  as  Dh'ofrs,  tliougli,  according  to  the  poet 
Thomas  Chan tpre,  they  led  by  no  means  an  exemplary 
life.  When  they  afterwards  dwindled  in  numbers,  Louis 
XI.  gave  their  convent,  under  the  name  of  Ave  Maria,  to 
the  Poor  Clares,  who  flourished  greatly  under  the  patron- 


IN   THE    RUE    DE    ST.    PAUL. 


age  of  his  widow,  Queen  Charlotte.  Their  house  was 
entered  from  the  Rue  des  Barre's  by  a  gateway  bearing 
statues  of  Louis  XL  and  Charlotte  de  Savoie,  and  their 
church  was  full  of  tombs  of  great  ladies,  including 
those  of  Jeanne  de  Vivonne,  daughter  of  the  lord  of  Chas- 
taigneraie  ;   of  Catherine   de  la   Tremoille,    and    Claude 


igg  •  WAlfKS  IN  PARIS 

Catherine  de  Clermont,  Duchesse  de  Retz.  The  Presi- 
dent Mole  and  his  wife,  Rene'e  de  Nicolai,  reposed  alone 
in  the  chapter-house.  At  the  Revolution  the  convent  was 
turned  into  a  cavalry  barrack  ;  this  gave  place  to  a  market  ; 
now  nothing  is  left. 

Opposite  the  main  entrance  of  the  Ave  Maria  was  the 
Jeu  de  Paume  de  la  Croix  Noire,  on  the  ramparts  of  the 
town.  After  the  Jeu  de  Paume  became  unfashionable,  at 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.,  its  place  was  taken 
here  for  a  short  time  by  the  Illustre  Théâtre,  where  Molière 
was  chief  actor,  and  whence,  having  made  himself  respon- 
sible for  the  debts  of  the  company,  he  was  soon  carried  off 
to  prison  in  the  Grand  Châtelet.  The  site  occupied  by 
the  Jeu  de  Paume  had  originally  been  a  convent  of  Car- 
melites, called  Barrés,  on  account  of  their  long  mantles 
divided  into  checks  of  black  and  white.  It  was  these 
nuns  who  gave  a  name  to  the  J^tie  des  Barrés. 

The  Carmelites  were  removed  by  St.  Louis  to  the  Rue 
du  Petit-Musc,  and  afterwards  they  moved  to  the  Quartier 
St.  Jacques,  selling  their  land  in  the  Quartier  de  St.  Paul 
to  Jacques  Marcel,  merchant  of  Paris,  whose  son.  Gamier 
Marcel,  bestowed  it  in  1352  upon  the  Celestins,  established 
here  under  the  patronage  of  the  dauphin  Charles,  during 
the  captivity  of  his  father,  king  Jean,  in  England.  As 
Charles  V.,  he  built  them  a  magnificent  church,  whose 
portal  bore  his  statue  and  that  of  his  wife  Jeanne  de  Bour- 
bon (now  at  St.  Denis).  Henceforth  the  Celestins  be- 
came the  especial  royal  foundation,  and  its  monks  were 
spoken  of  by  the  kings  as  their  hien-aimés  chapelains  et 
serviteurs  de  Dieu.  From  the  XIV.  c.  to  the  XVI.  c.  bene- 
factors of  the  convent  were  dressed  in  the  Celestin  habit 
before  receiving  the  last  sacraments,  and  thus  they  were 
represented   upon    their    tombs   in    the    pavement    of  the 


LES   CÉLESTINS  109 

church.  Amongst  the  sepulchral  inscriptions  here  were 
those  of  the  family  of  Marcel  ;  of  Jean  Lhuiller,  counsellor 
of  parliament,  and  of  the  famous  doctor,  Odo  de  Creil 
(1373).  In  the  choir  were  many  cenotaphs,  containing 
only  the  hearts  of  the  princesses  of  France  buried  at  St. 
Denis,  but  it  was  also  adorned  by  the  tombs  of  Jeanne  de 
Bourbon,  wife  of  Charles  V.,  1377  (now  at  St.  Denis)  ;  of 
Léon  de  Lusignan,  last  king  of  Armenia,  1393  (at  St. 
Denis)  ;  and  of  Anne  de  Bourgogne,  Duchess  of  Bedford, 
1432  (now  at  the  Louvre).^  Annexed  to  the  church  by  the 
CoJifrerie  des  dix  mille  martyrs  in  the  XV.  c.  was  the  chapel 
which  became  the  burial-place  of  the  united  families  of 
Gesvres  and  Beaune,  and  contained  the  body  of  Jacques 
de  Beaune,  lord  of  Semblançay,  Controller  of  Finances 
under  François  I.,  unjustly  hanged  on  a  gallows  at  Mont- 
faucon  in  1543.  Near  his  forgotten  grave  rose  the  mag- 
nificent monuments  of  the  Potier  des  Gesvres  and  de  Lux- 
embourg, with  their  kneeling  figures.  Three  little  chapels, 
communicating  with  the  Chapelle  des  Gesvres,  belonged  to 
other  families — that  of  Rochefort,  which  produced  two 
chancellors  of  France  in  the  reigns  of  Louis  XL,  Charles 
VIIL,  and  Charles  XIL,  of  whom  one,  Guy  de  Rochefort, 
had  a  curious  tomb  ;  that  of  the  family  of  Zamet,  which 
began  with  the  financier  Sébastien  Zamet,  who  died  in 
1614  in  his  magnificent  hotel  of  the  Rue  de  la  Cerisaie, 
and  which  ended  with  his  son  Jean  Zamet,  governor  of  the 
Château  of  Fontainebleau,  who  died  in  battle  in  1622  ;  and 
that  of  Charles  de  Maigné,  gentleman  of  the  chamber  to 
Henri  II.,  with  a  beautiful  statue  by  the  Florentine  Paolo 
Poncio,  now  in  the  Louvre. 

A  more  magnificent  building,  like  a  succursale  to  St. 

'  On  the  destruction  of  the  church  her  remains — being  those  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jean  sans  Peur— were  removed  to  St.  Bt'nigne  at  Dijon. 


200  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Denis,  rose  attached  to  the  Celestins — the  great  Chapelle 
d'Orléans,  built  in  1393  by  Louis  d'Orléans,  the  younger 
son  of  Charles  V.  (who  was  murdered  in  the  Rue  Barbette), 
in  fulfilment  of  a  vow  of  his  wife,  Valentine  de  Milan,  for 
his  escape  from  perishing  by  fire  in  the  terrible  masquerade 
called  le  ballet  des  ardents,  given  in  the  old  hotel  of  Blanche 
of  Castille.  Here;  in  the  monastery  which  he  had  richly 
endowed,  he  was  buried  with  his  wife  (who  only  survived 
him  a  short  time),  and  all  his  descendants  ;  and  here  his 
grandson,  Louis  XIL,  erected  a  magnificent  monument 
(now  at  St.  Denis)  to  his  memory  and  that  of  his  sons. 
Beside  it  stood  the  urn  (also  at  St.  Denis)  which  contained 
the  heart  of  François  IL,  and  the  beautiful  group  of  the 
three  Graces  by  Germain  Pilon  (now  at  the  Louvre)  which 
upheld  the  bronze  urn  holding  the  hearts  of  Henri  IL, 
Catherine  de  Médicis,  Charles  IX.,  and  his  brother,  Fran- 
çois de  Maine,  Duc  d'Anjou.  Near  this  rose  a  pyramid 
in  honor  of  the  house  of  Longueville,  and  two  sarcophagi 
which  contained  the  hearts  of  a  Comte  de  Cossé-Brissac 
and  a  Duc  de  Rohan.  Here  also  was  the  tomb,  with  a 
seated  statue,  of  Philippe  de  Chabot,  and  that  of  the 
Maréchal  Anne  de  Montmorency,  by  Barthélémy  Prieur 
(both  now  in  the  Louvre).  All  the  precious  contents  of 
the  Celestins,  except  the  few  statues  now  in  the  galleries, 
perished  in  the  Revolution.  Its  church  served  as  a  barn 
and  stable  for  half  a  century,  and  was  destroyed  in  1849. 
Amongst  the  coffins  thrown  up  at  this  time  was  that  of 
Anne,  Duchess  of  Bedford,  daughter  of  Jean  sans  Peur. 
She  was  buried  here,  because  after  her  death  her  husband 
recollected  how,  one  night  "qu'elle  s'esbattoit  à  jeux  hon- 
nestes"with  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  her  household, 
she  heard  the  bells  of  the  Celestins  sound  for  matins,  and 
rising  up,  and   inviting  her  ladies   to  follow  her,  went  at 


LES   CE  LE  S  TIN  S  20i 

once  to  the  church,  and  assisted  at  the  holy  office,  by  the 
tomb  of  that  Due  d'Orle'ans  whom  her  flxther  had  caused 
to  be  assassinated. 

Whilst  Jean  le  Bon  was  a  prisoner  in  England,  his  son, 
afterwards  Charles  V.,  was  oppressed  by  the  growing  power 
of  the  Confrérie  des  Bourgeois,  the  municipal  authorities  of 
Paris.  Under  their  formidable  provost,  Etienne  Marcel, 
they  had  broken  into  the  Louvre  and  murdered  his  two 
favorite  ministers  in  his  presence,  his  own  life  only  being 
saved  by  his  consenting  to  put  on  the  red  and  green  cap 
of  the  republican  leader,  and  giving  him  his  own  of  cloth 
of  gold,  arrayed  in  which  he  showed  himself  triumphantly 
to  the  people.  The  king  for  the  time  escaped  from  Paris, 
and  after  Marcel  had  been  killed,  July  31,  1358,  at  the 
Bastille  St.  Antoine,  he  determined  to  seek  a  more  secure 
residence  with  the  Association  de  la  Marchmtdise  de  Peau, 
which  had  always  been  submissive  and  devoted  to  the 
royal  authority.  Every  preceding  king  had  held  his  Court 
either  in  the  Cité  or  at  the  Louvre,  but  Charles  now  bought, 
near  the  Port  de  St.  Paul,  the  hotel  of  the  Comte  d'Etam- 
pes,  which  occupied  the  whole  space  between  the  Rue  St. 
Antoine  and  the  Cemetery  of  St.  Paul.  In  1363  he  added 
to  his  purchase  the  hotel  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens,  with 
gardens  which  reached  to  the  Port,  and  he  had  also  become 
the  owner  of  the  smaller  hôtels  d'Estomesnil  and  de  Pute- 
y-Muce,  and  of  that  of  the  abbots  of  St.  Maur,  who  built 
another  for  themselves  in  the  Rue  des  Barrés.  By  an  edict 
of  July,  1364,  Charles  V.,  after  coming  to  the  throne,  de- 
clared the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul  to  be  for  ever  part  of  the  do- 
main of  the  Crown— the  hotel  where  "  he  had  enjoyed 
many  pleasures,  endured  and  recovered  from  many  ill- 
nesses, and  which,  therefore,  he  regarded  with  singular 
pleasure   and   affection."     No   plan   of  the   Hôtel   de   St. 


202  IVALICS  IN  PARIS 

Paul  has  come  clown  to  us,  but  we  know  that  it  was  rather 
a  group  of  palaces  than  a  single  building,  the  Hôtel  de 
Sens  being  the  royal  dwelling-place  ;  the  Hôtel  de  St. 
Maur,  under  the  name  of  Hôtel  de  la  Conciergerie,  being 
the  residence  of  the  Due  d'Orléans,  Duc  de  Bourgogne, 
and  other  princes  of  the  royal  family  ;  the  Hôtel  d'Etampes 
being  called  Hôtel  de  la  Reine,  afterwards  Hôtel  de  Beau- 
treillis  ;  whilst,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rue  du  Petit-Musc, 
were  the  Hôtel  du  Petit-Musc,  and  Maison  du  Pont-Perrin, 
probably  occupied  by  Court  officials.  The  palace,  as  a 
whole,  was  surrounded  by  high  walls,  inclosing  six  mead- 
ows, eight  gardens,  twelve  galleries,  and  a  number  of 
courts.  We  know  many  of  the  names  of  the  royal  dwell- 
ing-rooms, such  as  the  Chambre  de  Charlemagne,  so  called 
from  its  tapestries  ;  the  Galerie  des  Courges  ;  the.  Chambre 
de  Theseus  ;  the  Chambre  Lambrissée  ;  the  Chambre 
Verte  ;  Chambre  des  Grandes  Aulnoires,  &c.  The  garden 
walks  were  shaded  by  trellises  covered  with  vines,  which 
produced  annually  a  Targe  quantity  of  Vin  de  r Hotel,  In 
their  shade  Charles  V.  amused  himself  by  keeping  a  me- 
nagerie, and  many  accounts  exist  of  sums  disbursed  to 
those  who  brought  him  rare  animals.  Here  the  queen  and 
her  ladies  appeared  in  the  new  dress  of  the  time,  in  which 
their  own  arms  were  always  embroidered  on  one  side  of 
their  gown,  and  their  husbands'  on  the  other. 

From  his  twelfth  year  to  his  death  at  fifty-four,  Charles 
VI.  lived  constantly  at  the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul  ;  there  he 
found  himself  practically  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the 
provost  of  the  merchants,  whom  his  father  had  come 
thither  specially  to  avoid,  and  there,  in  1392,  he  showed 
the  first  symptoms  of  the  insanity  which  returned,  with  in- 
tervals of  calm  and  sense,  till  his  death  ;  there  his  twelve 
children  by  Isabeau  de  Bavière  were  born,  most  of  them 


HOTEL   DR    ST.    PAUL  203 

during  his  madness  ;  there  he  several  times  saw  his  palace 
attacked  by  a  mob,  and  his  relations  and  courtiers  arrested 
without  being  able  to  help  them  ;  and  there,  abandoned 
by  his  wife  and  children,  he  died,  Oct.  20,  1422,  being 
only  cared  for  by  a  mistress,  Odette  de  Champdivers, 
nicknamed  ia  petite  reine.  For  thirteen  years  after  her  hus- 
band's death,  Isabeau  de  Bavière  remained  shut  up  from 
the  detestation  of  the  French,  in  the  Hôtel  St.  Paul. 
"  Even  her  body  was  so  despised,"  says  Brantôme,  "that 
it  was  transported  from  her  hotel,  in  a  little  boat  on  the 
Seine,  without  any  kind  of  ceremony  or  pomp,  and  was 
thus  carried  to  her  grave  at  St.  Denis,'  just  as  if  she  had 
been  a  simple  demoiselle."  From  this  time  the  Hôtel  de 
St.  Paul  was  deserted  by  royalty.  When  Charles  VH. 
returned  victorious  to  Paris  he  would  not  lodge  even  in 
the  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  contaminated  for  him  by  the 
residence  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and,  whenever  he  was 
in  Paris,  he  stayed  at  the  Hôtel  Neuf,  which  is  sometimes 
supposed  to  have  been  the  same  as  the  Hôtel  du  Petit- 
Musc,  afterwards  (when  given  by  Charles  VHI.  to  Anne  of 
Brittany)  known  as  Hôtel  de  Bretagne.  In  spite  of  the 
letters  patent  of  Charles  V.  declaring  the  Hôtel  de  St. 
Paul  inalienable  from  the  domains  of  the  Crown,  Louis  XI. 
bestowed  several  of  the  satellite  hotels  dependent  on  the 
palace  upon  his  friends,  and  during  the  reign  of  François  I. 
the  Rues  des  Lions,  Beautreillis,  and  de  la  Cerisaie,  re- 
calling by  their  names  the  ancient  sites  they  occupied,  had 
invaded  the  precincts  of  the  palace.  A  great  part  of  the 
buildings  and  land  extending  from  the  Rue  des  Barre's  to 
the  Rue  du  Petit-Musc,  with  the  great  royal  palace  "fort 
vague  et  ruineux,"  was  alienated  in  15 16  for  the  benefit  of 
Jacques  de  Geroilhac,  grand-master  and  captain-general 
of  the  artillery  of  France,  in  reward  for  his  public  service, 


204  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

especially  at  the  battle  of  Marignan;  finally,  in  1542,  all 
the  rest  of  the  royal  domain  in  th.e  Quartier  de  St.  Paul, 
comprising  a  great  number  of  hotels  under  different  illus- 
trious names,  was  sold,  and  the  sites  were  soon  occupied 
by  fresh  buildings.  Scarcely  any  fragments  of  the  vast 
royal  palace  remain.  At  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de  St. 
Paul  and  Rue  des  Lions  is  a  tourelle,  which  may  have  be- 
longed to  one  of  the  minor  hotels  of  the  royal  colony. 

"This  street  took  its  name  from  the  building  and  the  courts 
in  which  the  large  and  small  lions  of  the  king  were  confined. 
One  day  that  Francis  I.  was  amusing  himself  by  watching  the 
lions  fight,  a  lady,  having  let  her  glove  fall,  said  to  De  Lorges, 
'  If  you  wish  me  to  believe  that  you  love  me  as  mnch  as  you 
swear  you  do  every  day,  go  and  pick  up  my  glove.'  De  Lorges 
went  down,  picked  up  the  glove  amidst  these  terrible  animals  ; 
came  back  and  flung  it  at  the  lady's  face,  and  then  in  spite  of  all 
her  advances  and  allurements,  would  never  see  her  again." — De 
Saint-Foix,  ''Essais  stir  Paris  "  1776. 

Of  the  streets  on  the  left  of  the  Rue  de  St.  Paul,  the 
Rue  Charles  V.  leads  to  the  Rue  de  la  Cerisaie,  where,  at 
No.  21,  are  remains  of  the  house  which  Philibert  Delorme 
built  for  himself,  and  which  he  intended  as  a  specimen  of 
his  finished  work.  His  book,  Nouvelles  inventions  pour  bien 
bastir,  draws  attention  to  it  as  a  model  "estant  le  tout 
proposé  par  manière  d'exemple  et  pour  montrer  comme 
l'on  doit  appliquer  les  fenêtres  et  portes."  At  the  back  of 
the  garden  of  No.  22  is  the  façade  of  the  back  part  of  the 
house,  with  a  winding  staircase  of  massive  stone. 

The  Hotel  de  Fieuville,  the  courtyard  of  which  opens 
on  the  left  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  de  St.  Paul  and  the 
Quai  des  Ce'lestins,  picturesque  as  it  is  in  its  high  dormer 
windows  of  brick,  only  dates  from  the  time  of  Henri  HI, 
It  appears  in  the  plan  of  Gomboust  of  1652. 

The   old   hotel   behind  the    Hôtel  de  Vieuvillc  is  the 


RUE   DE   ST.    PAUL  205 

Hotel  des  Lions  du  Roi,  which  was  appropriated  by  Jacques 
de  Geroilhac  as  his  residence,  in  his  quaUty  of  grand 
ècuyer,  because  it  adjoined  the  vast  royal  stables,  which 
still  exist,  surmounted  by  granaries,  lighted  by  lofty  orna- 
mented windows.  The  hotel  has  long  been  an  establish- 
ment for  distilled  waters,  but  it  retains  some  of  its  halls 
with  painted  ceilings,  and  walls  decorated  in  stucco.  Its 
entrance  from  the  Qiiai  des  Cckstins,  much  altered,  is  per- 
haps the  main  entrance  to  the  royal  palace  of  St.  Paul,  but 
a  row  of  houses  has  taken  the  place  of  the  fortified  wall 
which  protected  the  royal  residence  towards  the  river. 

Opening  from  the  Rue  de  St.  Paul  to  the  east  is  the 
Rjie  Charles  F.,  where  No.  12  was  the  Bldel  dAubray,  in- 
habited by  the  Marquise  de  Brinvilliers,  the  famous  mur- 
deress.    During  her  trial,  Mme  de  Se'vigne'  wrote— 

"3  July,  1676.  The  trial  of  the  Brinvilliers  is  still  going  on. 
She  poisoned  some  pigeon  pies,  of  which  many  persons  died  ; 
she  had  no  reason  for  getting  rid  of  them,  she  was  merely  making 
experiments  to  assure  herself  of  the  effect  of  her  poisons.  The 
Chevalier  du  Guet,  who  had  one  of  these  nice  dishes,  died  three 
or  four  years  afterwards  ;  she  asked  the  other  day  if  he  were  dead, 
and  was  answered  '  no  '  ;  she  turned  round  and  said,  '  He  has  a 
tough  life.'  " 

and,  after  her  execution — 

"  17  July,  1676.  At  length  all  is  over.  Brinvilliers  is  now  in 
the  air  ;  her  poor  little  body  was  thrown,  after  her  execution,  into 
a  good  large  fire,  and  her  ashes  scattered  to  the  wind  ;  so  that  we 
are  breathing  her,  and  by  the  communication  of  litde  spirits, 
some  poisonous  humor  will  seize  us,  by  which  we  shall  be  much 
astonished. 

"  Brinvilliers  died  as  she  had  lived  ;  that  is  to  say,  resolutely. 
She  entered  the  place  where  they  Avere  to  put  her  to  the  torture, 
and,  seeing  three  buckets  of  water,  said,  '  That  must  certainly  be 
to  drown  me  ;  for  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  with  my  figure  I  can 
drink  all  that.'  She  listened  to  her  sentence  in  the  morning, 
without  fear  or  weakness,  and  at  the  end  asked  them  to  recom- 


2o6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

mence,  as  the  word  '  tumbril  '  had  struck  her  at  the  beginning, 
and  she  had  not  given  attention  to  the  rest.  She  told  her  confes- 
sor, on  the  road,  to  place  the  executioner  before  her,  in  order,  she 
added,  that  she  might  not  see  that  rogue,  Degrais,  who  took  her.  De- 
grais  was  on  horseback  in  front  of  the  tumbril.  Her  confessor 
reprimanded  her  for  such  a  sentiment,  and  she  replied,  '  Oh, 
heavens,  I  beg  your  pardon  ;  let  me  see  that  strange  sight.'  She 
ascended,  alone  and  barefoot,  the  ladder  and  the  scaffold,  and  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  she  was  put  in  trim,  and  her  hair  cut,  and 
placed  in  this  or  that  position  by  the  executioner  ;  this  caused 
much  murmuring,  and  was  a  great  cruelty.  Next  morning,  her 
bones  were  collected,  because  the  people  believed  she  was  a 
saint.  She  had,  she  said,  two  confessors  ;  one  told  her  to  confess 
everything,  the  other  not  ;  she  laughed  at  this  diversity  and  said, 
'  I  can  conscientiously  do  what  I  please.'  It  pleased  her  to  con- 
fess nothing." 

Turning  along  the  quay,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  du 
Petit-Musc  is  the  Hotel  dc  Lavalette,  formerly  Hôtel  Fieu- 
bet,  built  under  the  regency  of  Anne  of  Austria,  stately 
and  beautiful,  and  decorated  with  paintings  by  Lesueur, 
though  overcharged  with  ornament  by  Le  Gros  for  its 
possessor  since  the  Revolution. 

"The  Hôtel  Fieubet  is  not  as  old  as  the  Hôtel  Vieuville,  and 
had  not  changed  its  aspect  till  M.  A.  de  Lavalette  took  the 
notion  of  completely  remodelling  it,  by  overcharging  it  with 
sculpture,  which  gives  it  a  hybrid,  yet  very  picturesque  char- 
acter. This  beautiful  house  was  built  under  the  regency  of  Anne 
of  Austria  for  one  of  her  chancellors,  Gaspard  Fieubet,  who 
became  counsellor  of  state  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  and 
was  more  inclined  to  intellect  and  wit  than  to  the  vanities  of  the 
court.  He  formed  in  his  hotel  a  select  society,  and  rivalled  the 
Saturdays  of  Mile  de  Scudéry.  Poets  took  precedence  of  prose 
writers  with  Fieubet,  who  made  a  few  verses  and  was  the  friend 
of  la  Fontaine." — Paris  a  travers  les  âges. 

Behind  the  Boulevard  Henri  IV.,  on  the  west,  was  the 
Hôtel  de  Lesdiguières,  built  by  the  Italian  financier 
Sébastien  Zamet,  the  friend  of  Henri  IV.,  who  constantly 
came  with  Gabrielle  d'Estrees  to  this  hotel,  called  by  the 


I/o  77':  L    DE   LA  VA  LET  TE  207 

people  le  palais  d'amour  du  roi.  It  was  after  a  supper  here 
that  Gabrielle  first  felt  the  pangs  of  which  she  died  (1599), 
and  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  caused  by  poison. 
After  the  death  of  Sébastien  Zamet,  in  16 14,  the  hotel  was 
sold  to  the  Constable  de  Lesdiguières,  who  gave  his  name 
to  it.  A  century  later,  17 17,  the  Czar  Peter  I.,  of  Russia 
lodged  there  during  his  visit  to  Paris.  The  hotel  has  long 
been  destroyed,  but  the  formation  of  the  boulevard  disclosed 


HÔTEL  DE  LAV  ALETTE. 


the  sculptured  tomb  of  a  cat  of  François  Marguerite  de 
Gondy,  Duchesse  de  Lesdiguières,  inscribed — 

"  Cy-gist  une  chatte  jolie  ; 
Sa  maîtresse,  qui  n'aima  rien, 
L'aima  jusques  à  la  folie  .  .  . 
Pourquoi  le  dire?     On  le  voit  bien." 

The  Quai  Henri  IV.  beyond  the  Quai  des  Célestins, 
occupies  the  site  of  the  Ile  Louviers,  now  united  to  the 
mainland. 


2o8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

At  the  entrance  of  the  Boulevard  Henri  IV.,  opposite 
the  Hôtel  de  Lavalette,  is  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  de  Sully, 
bordered  on  the  right  by  the  building  still  called  the  Ar- 
senal, though  no  cannon  have  been  cast  in  Paris  since  the 
reign  of  Louis  XIV.  From  the  time  of  Philippe  Auguste 
all  weapons  of  war  were  made  in  the  Louvre,  till  Charles 
v.,  for  security,  transferred  the  seat  of  government  to 
the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul.  After  this,  weapons  were  manu- 
factured within  the  walls  of  the  hotel  in  the  Marais,  and 
were  laid  up  in  the  great  round  Tour  de  Billy,  which 
stood  outside  the  city,  beyond  the  Ce'lestins. 

Sully  was  made  Grand  Master  of  Artillery  by  Henri 
IV.,  who  was  constantly  coming  hither  from  the  Louvre  to 
visit  him,  and  who,  whilst  Sully  was  looking  after  his 
magazines  and  foundries,  delighted  to  improve  the  resi- 
dence and  gardens  of  his  favorite  minister.  Sully  built  for 
the  king  Le  Cabinet  de  Henri  IV.,  a  charming  summer 
pavilion,  containing  one  good  chamber,  with  an  oratory 
attached,  looking  upon  the  He  Louviers.  But  one  day, 
on  his  way  to  Sully  at  the  Arsenal,  the  king  was  murdered. 
Marie  de  Cossé-Brissac,  wife  of  the  Grand  Master  Due 
de  la  Meilleraie,  entrusted  the  internal  decoration  of  the 
Cabinet  de  Henri  IV. — which  had  never  been  completed — 
some  say  to  Simon  Vouet,  others  to  Claude  Vignon. 

"The  great  room  of  the  Cabinet  de  Henri  IV.,  which  the 
duchesse  designed  to  be  her  bed-room,  was  divided  into  two  dis- 
tinct parts  by  the  subjects  of  the  paintings  that  adorned  it.  In 
the  larger  part,  the  ceiling  and  wainscot  represented  allegori- 
cally  the  principal  deeds  of  arms  of  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraie  ; 
among  others  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle  and  that  of  Hesdin  and 
the  capture  of  several  towns  of  Roussillon.  It  is  indisputable 
then  that  these  paintings  were  done  in  the  year  1643  or  1644.  A 
painting  which  appears  original  and  may  go  back  to  the  times 
of  Sull)%  represents  the  entry  of  Henri  IV.  into  Paris  in  1594, 
when  the  Duke  de  Brissac  opened  the  gates  to  him.     This  paint- 


THE  ARSENAL  209 

ing  is  a  family  memorial  which  Marie  Cossé,  duchesse  de  Meil- 
leraie,  must  have  kept  to  figure  among  the  military  trophies  of 
her  husband.  In  the  smaller  portion  of  the  cabinet,  which 
formed  the  ruelle  and  contained  the  state  bed  of  the  duchess,  the 
artist  has  executed  paintings  in  harmony  with  the  destination  of 
a  bed-chamber  ;  they  represent  the  god  of  sleep,  surrounded  by 
happy  dreams.  The  little  chamber  connecting  with  the  cabinet 
of  Henri  IV.  indicates,  by  the  paintings  that  adorn  it,  that  it  was 
used  as  an  oratory.  There  may  be  seen  also  on  the  ceiling, 
which  presents  subjects  taken  from  the  glories  of  heaven,  the 
heroines  of  the  Bible,  to  whom  the  painter  has-  taken  the 
liberty  of  adding  the  Maid  of  Orleans  and  the  duchesse  de  Meil- 
leraie  herself.  Her  costume  has  been  afterwards  altered  with  a 
black  widow's  dress,  when  she  lost  her  husband,  whom  her  son 
succeeded  as  Grand  Master  of  the  Artillery  at  the  Arsenal." — 
"  Paris  a  travers  les  âges^ 

The  office  of  Grand  Master  of  the  Artillery  was  always 
given  to  the  greatest  personages  of  the  Court.  The  Due 
de  la  Meilleraie  was  succeeded  by  his  son  the  Due  de 
Mazarin,  then  followed  the  Due  de  Lude,  1669;  and  the 
Due  d'Humieres,  1683.  At  this  time  the  Arsenal  was  the 
seat  of  an  extraordinary  criminal  tribunal,  to  inquire  into 
the  crimes  of  magic  and  poisoning,  concerning  which  ter- 
rible revelations  were  made  during  the  trial  of  the 
Marquise  de  Brinvilliers,  and  which  involved  the  Comtesse 
de  Soissons  and  many  others  of  the  greatest  ladies  in 
France.  In  1694,  Louis  XIV.  gave  the  office  of  Grand 
Master  of  Artillery  to  the  Due  de  Maine  (his  much-in- 
dulged son  by  Mme  de  Montespan),  and  his  wife,  Anne 
Louise  de  Bourbon-Condé,  established  herself  there  for  a 
time,  and  inserted  her  portrait,  as  a  nymph,  by  J.  B. 
Vanloo,  over  the  chimney-piece  of  the  Cabinet  de  Henri 
IV.  "  L'arsenal  était  renversé  pour  y  bâtir  un  beau  loge- 
ment pour  le  Duc  de  Maine,"  says  St.  Simon.  The  last 
Grand  Master  was  his  brother,  the  Comte  de  Toulouse. 

The  old  hotel  of  the  Grand  Master  was  rebuilt  under 


2IO  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  Régent  d'Orle'ans  by  Boffrand,  but  he  presented  all 
that  was  interesting  in  the  house,  only  encasing  the  outer 
walls  which  contained  the  rooms  of  Sully  and  Henri  IV. 
When  the  office  of  Grand  Master  of  Artillery  was  sup- 
pressed, that  of  Governor  of  the  Arsenal  remained,  and 
to  this  Marc-Antoine  René  Voyer  de  Paulmy,  son  of  the 
Marquis  d'Argenson,  was  appointed.  He  cared  nothing 
about  cannons,  but  devoted  his  whole  time  and  fortune  to 
the  acquisition  of  a  magnificent  library,  which  comprised 
100,000  printed  works  and  3,000  MSS.  Just  before  his 
death  he  sold  his  library  to  the  Comte  d'Artoise,  who,  by 
purchase,  added  to  it  the  library  of  the  Prince  de  Soubise. 
At  the  Revolution,  the  collection  was  seized  and  became  a 
Public  Library,  and  at  the  Restoration,  when  urged  to 
claim  what  was  his  own,  the  Comte  d'Artois  refused  to  do 
so,  only  stipulating  that  the  library  should  be  called  Bib- 
liothèque de  Monsieur.  The  library  (open  daily  from  10 
to  3,  except  on  Sundays  and  holidays)  is  well  worth  visit- 
ing. Its  collection  now  amounts  to  about  360,000 
volumes,  and  is  generally  known  as  the  Bibliothèque  de 
Paulmy.     It  is  especially  rich  in  early  French  poetry. 

In  the  Rue  de  Figuier^  behind  the  Hôtel  de  St.  Paul, 
will  be  found  the  remains  of  the  Hotel  de  Sens,  once  en- 
woven  with  the  immense  pile  of  buildings  which  formed 
the  royal  residence.  Jean  le  Bon,  returning  from  his 
captivity  in  London,  was  here  for  some  time  as  the  guest 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens.  Charles  V.  bought  the  hotel 
from  Archbishop  Guillaume  de  Melun,  but  upon  the 
destruction  of  the  rest  of  the  palace,  that  part  which  had 
belonged  to  them  was  restored  to  the  Archbishop  of  Sens. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  XVI.  c.  the  hotel  was  rebuilt  by 
Archbishop  Tristan  de  Salazar. 

Under  Hem  i  IV. ,  the  palace  was  inhabited  for  a  time 


HOTEL   DE   SENS 


21 


by  Marguerite  de  Valois  (daughter  of  Henry  IL),  the 
licentious  Reine  Margot,  when,  after  her  divorce,  she  left 
Auvergne,  and  obtained  the  king's  permission  to  estab- 
lish herself  in  Paris.  Here  it  is  said  she  used  to  sleep 
habitually  in  a  bed  with  black  satin  sheets,  in  order  to 
give  greater  effect  to  the  whiteness  of  her  skin.  She  came 
to  the  hotel  in  August,  1605,  and  left  it  before  a  year  was 
over,  because,    as   she   was   returning  from  mass  at  the 


HOTEL    DE   SENS. 

Célestins,  her  page  and  favorite  Julien  was  shot  dead  at 
the  portiere  of  her  carriage,  in  a  fit  of  jealousy,  by  Ver- 
mond,  one  of  her  former  lovers.  The  queen  swore  that 
she  would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till  she  was  revenged  on 
the  assassin,  and  he  was  beheaded  two  days  after,  in  her 
presence,  opposite  the  hôtel.  That  evening  she  left  Paris, 
never  to  return,  as  the  people  were  singing  under  her 
windows — 


212  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

"  La  Royne-Vénus  demi-morte 
De  voir  mourir  devant  sa  porte, 
Son  Adonis,  son  cher  Amour, 
Pour  vengeance  a  devant  sa  face 
Fait  défaire  en  la  mesme  place 
L'assassin  presque  au  mesme  jour." 

It  was  within  the  walls  of  the  Hôtel  de  Sens,  addi- 
tionally decorated  by  Cardinal  Dupont,  that  Cardinal  de 
Pellevé,  archbishop  of  Sens,  one  of  the  principal  chiefs  of 
the  Ligue,  united  the  leaders  of  the  Catholic  party,  and 
there  he  died,  March  22,  1594,  whilst  a  Te  Deiwi  was 
being  chanted  at  Notre  Dame  for  the  entry  of  the  king  to 
Paris. 

After  the  archbishops  of  Sens  ceased  to  be  metro- 
politans of  Paris  (which  was  raised  from  a  bishopric  to  an 
archbishopric  in  1622),  they  deserted  their  hotel,  though 
they  were  only  dispossessed  as  proprietors  by  the  Revo- 
lution. In  the  last  century  the  hotel  became  a  diligence 
office  ;  now  2l  fabrique  de  confitures  occupies  the  chamber  of 
la  galante  reine^  but  the  building  is  still  a  beautiful  and 
important  specimen  of  the  first  years  of  the  XVI.  c,  and 
no  one  should  fail  to  visit  its  gothic  gateway  defended  by 
two  encorbelled  tourelles  with  high  peaked  roofs.  A 
porch,  with  vaulting  irregular  in  plan,  but  exquisite  in 
execution  ;  its  brick  chimneys,  great  halls,  the  square  don- 
jon tower  at  the  back  of  the  court,  and  the  winding  stair 
of  the  tourelle,  remain  entire  ;  only  the  chapel  has  been 
destroyed.  On  the  left  of  the  entrance  is  an  eight-pounder 
ball,  which  lodged  in  the  wall,  July  28,  1830,  during  the 
attack  on  the  convent  of  Ave  Maria. 

A  short  distance  hence,  facing  the  Rue  St.  Antoine,  is 
the  Church  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Louis,  erected  1627-41,  by 
François  Derrand  for  Louis  XIII.,  on  the  site  of  a  Jesuit 
church  built  (1580)  on  ground  formerly  occupied  by  the 


CHURCH  OF  ST.    PAUL   AND   ST.   LOUIS       213 

hotel  of  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon.  Ravaillac,  the  mur- 
derer of  Henri  IV.,  declared  that  the  Jesuit  d'Aubignc 
met  him  in  this  earlier  church  and  instigated  his  crime. 
The  first  mass  in  the  present  church  was  celebrated  by 
Cardinal  de  Richelieu.  The  munificence  of  Louis  XIII., 
who  paid  for  the  existing  church,  was  commemorated  by 
the  Jesuits  in  a  medal  inscribed  Fia^  iit  David,  aedificat  nt 
Salomon.  Richelieu  added  the  portal,  from  designs  of  the 
Jesuit  Marcel  Ange.  The  church  has  a  reminiscence  of 
St.  Andrea  della  Valle  and  St.  Ignazio  at  Rome,  but  is 
greatly  their  inferior.  Two  inscriptions  on  black  marble 
against  the  last  pillars  of  the  nave  commemorate  Bour- 
daloue("Hic  jacet  Bourdaloue  "),  1704,  and  Huet,  bishop 
ofAvranches,  1 721,  buried  here.  The  interesting  monu- 
ments in  this  church,  destroyed  in  the  Revolution,  included 
those  of  the  great  Conde  and  his  father  Henri  de  Bourbon, 
by  Sarazin,  also  that  of  the  cruel  Chancellor  René  de  Bira- 
gue,  now  in  the  Louvre.  The  heart  of  Louis  XIII.  was  also 
preserved  here  in  a  rich  case  by  Sarazin,  and  the  heart  of 
Louis  XIV.  in  a  case  by  Coustou  le  Jeune.  In  the  left  tran- 
sept is  Christ  in  the  garden  of  Olives,  an  early  work  of 
Eugene  Delacroix.  A  representation  of  the  Abbey  of  Long- 
champs  is  said  to  be  by  Philippe  de  Champaigne.  In  the 
right  transept  a  picture  of  St.  Isabelle  (sister  of  St.  Louis) 
offering  that  abbey  to  the  Virgin  is  perhaps  by  the  same 
hand.  The  crucifix  in  the  sacristy  comes  from  the  old 
chapel  of  the  Bastille.  The  shells  which  serve  as  bénitiers 
were  given  by  Victor  Hugo  when  his  first  child  was  baptized. 
The  name  of  St.  Paul  was  added  to  that  of  St.  Louis  when 
the  old  church  of  St.  Paul  was  destroyed  in  1796. 

Around  the  fountain  opposite  the  church,  the  Cour  des 
Aides  and  the  Chambre  des  Comptes  fought  for  preced- 
ence at  the  funeral  of  Cardinal  de  Birague. 


214 


ÏVALICS  IN  PARIS 


At  No.  1 02  Rue  St.  Antoine  is  the  entrance  of  the 
Passage  Charlemagne,  which  crosses  the  courtyard  of  the 
Hotel  du  Prévôt  de  Paris,  sometimes  called  Hotel  dc 
Gr avilie^  Hotel  d^Aubryot,  or  du  Porc-cpic,  which  belonged 
to  Hugues  Aubryot,  founder  of  the  Bastille.  We  hear  of 
his  residing,  not  at  the  Petit  Châtelet,  the  official  residence 


hÔtel  du  prévôt  de  paris. 

of  the  provosts,  but  (1381)  at  his  hôtel,  called  Porc-épic — 
"à  la  poterne  Saint-Pol."  Having  incurred  the  hatred  of 
the  University  by  his  stern  repression  of  its  disorders,  he 
was  accused  of  heresy  and  favoring  the  Jews  (a  terrible 
crime  at  that  time),  and  condemned,  on  a  scaffold  before 
Notre  Dame,  to  pass  the  rest  of  his  life  "  on  the  bread 
and  water  of  affliction  "  in  the  dungeons  of  For  I'EvCque, 


HOTEL   D'AU  MONT 


215 


whence  he  was  transferred  to  the  Bastille,  but,  being  set 
free  in  a  popular  insurrection^  escaped  to  Burgundy. 
After  the  time  of  Aubryot,  the  hotel  became  a  séjour  of 
Louis  d'Orléans,  the  builder  of  Pierrefonds,  who  created 
the  order  of  Porc-épic.  Then  followed  J.  de  Montaigu, 
the  Connétable  de  Richemont,  Estouteville,  the  Admiral 


IN  THE  HÔTEL  d'aUMONT. 

de  Graville  and  the  Connétable  de  Montmorency,  whose 
widow  sold  it  to  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  by  whom  it  was 
bequeathed  to  the  Jesuits,  after  which  it  became  a  dépend- 
ance of  their  college,  now  Lycée  Charlemagne.  In  the 
plan  of  Paris  of  1570,  attributed  to  Du  Cerceau,  this  hotel 
is  inscribed  as  "  Logis  du  Preuost  de  Paris."  The  build- 
ings are  of  the  time  of  François  L     They  are  very  little 


V 


2l6 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


known,  and  have  therefore  happily  escaped  "  restoration," 
so  that  their  color  is  glorious.  In  the  dark  arcades  of  the 
court,  the  delicate  friezes,  broadly  over-hanging  eaves, 
arched  doorways,  twisted  staircase,  brilliant  flowers  in  the 
windows,  bright  glints  of  green  seen  through  dark  entries, 
and  figures  and  costumes  full  of  color — for  such  are  still 
to  be  seen  in  the  Marais— an  artist  may  find  at  least  a 
dozen  subjects  worthy  of  his  skill. 


GATE  OF  HÔTEL  DE  LUXEMBOURG. 

The  southern  side  of  the  Hôtel  du  PreVôt  opens  upon 
the  Rue  Charlemagne,  formerly  Rue  des  Jardins  St.  Paul, 
where  there  is  much  to  repay  a  student  of  street  archi- 
tecture. In  this  street  Rabelais  died  and  Molière  passed 
the  first  years  of  his  dramatic  apprenticeship.  In  the 
court  of  the  barrack  is  a  tower  given  by  Charles  VIII.  to 


RUE   DES  BARRES  217 

the  nuns  of  the  Ave  Maria.  Crossing  the  Rue  des  Non- 
nai?is  d'Hyeres,  so  called  from  an  offshoot  of  the  Abbey  of 
Hyeres  established  here  in  1182,  we  reach  the  Rue  de 
Jouy,  where  the  Abbot  of  Jouy  had  his  residence.  Its  site 
is  now  occupied  by  the  Hotel  d'Aumont^  built  by  François 
Mansart  for  the  Due  d'Aumont.  It  afterwards  belonged 
to  the  Abbé  Terray.  The  courtyard  is  magnificent,  and 
there  are  several  richly-decorated  rooms,  though  the 
splendid  ceiling  on  which  Lebrun  represented  the  apo- 
theosis of  Romulus  is  gone.  Altogether  this  is  one  of 
the  finest  hotels  of  the  period  in  France.  It  is  now  occu- 
pied as  the  Pharmacie  Générale.  In  the  garden  was  once 
a  Vétius  coucliée^  regarded  as  a  masterpiece  of  Auguier. 

On  the  left  opens  the  Rue  Geoffroy  d' Asnier,  where  we 
find  the  Hotel  de  Chalons  Luxembourg,  of  the  XVII.  c, 
with  an  entrance  gate  of  noble  proportions.  Its  little 
courtyard  of  brick  and  stone  is  very  richly  decorated  with 
masks  and  pilasters  after  the  fashion  of  the  time.  The 
entrance  is  preceded  by  d.  perron. 

Almost  opposite,  down  a  narrow  entry,  we  have  a  most 
picturesque  view  of  the  back  of  the  old  Church  of  St.  Ger- 
vais  :  though  at  the  end  of  the  alley,  as  we  emerge  into 
sunshine,  we  seem  to  enter  upon  a  younger  Paris,  and 
leave  the  narrow  historic  streets  of  the  Marais.  The  last 
of  these,  however,  at  the  back  of  the  church,  is  the  Rue  des 
Barres,  where  the  handsome  Louis  de  Bourdon,  one  of  the 
lovers  of  Queen  Isabeau  de  Bavière,  was  met  by  Charles 
VI.,  as  he  was  on  his  way  to  his  mistress.  The  king 
ordered  Tannegui  du  Chatel  to  arrest  him,  and  he  was 
tried  that  night,  sewn  up  in  a  sack,  and  thrown  into  the 
Seine,  with  these  words  upon  the  sack— "  Laissez  passer 
la  justice  du  roi."i 

1  Monstrelet,  p.  244. 


2i8  WALJ^S  IN  PARIS 

The  church  of  Sts.  Gervais  and  Protais^  founded 
under  Childebert  I.  in  the  VI.  c,  is  chiefly  XVI.  c.  The 
Grecian  portico,  intensely  admired  at  the  time  of  its  erec- 
tion, was  added'in  1616  by  the  greatest  architect  of  the 
time  of  Louis  XIII. — Jacques  Debrosse. 

"  Debrosse  squandered  w&xy  distinguished  talents  in  un- 
happy attempts  to  unite  the  three  Greek  orders  superimposed  to 
a  principle  incompatible  with  the  antique  system  of  construction. 
The  porch  of  St.  Gervais,  stuck  to  a  Gothic  church,  could  only 
be  admired  at  a  period  when  the  notion  of  harmony  in  art  was 
lost." — McD'tin,  '^  Hist,  de  France." 

"  St.  Gervais,  which  a  porch  in  good  taste  has  ruined." — Vic- 
tor Hugo, 

The  gothic  tower  on  the  north  had  a  classical  story 
added  at  the  same  time  with  the  portico.  The  interior  is 
one  of  the  best  specimens  of  gothic  architecture  in  Paris. 
The  XVIII.  c.  ornaments  of  the  high-altar  belonged  to 
the  abbey  church  of  St.  Geneviève.  The  XVI.  c.  stalls 
are  the  only  ones  of  the  kind  in  Paris.  The  subjects  on 
the  miséricordes  are  exceedingly  curious.  The  second 
chapel  of  the  choir  contains  a  fine  (restored)  window  by 
Robert  Pinaigrier,  1531.  Only  fragments  remain  of  glori- 
ous windows  by  Jean  Cousin.  In  the  chapel,  right  of  the 
apse,  is  the  tomb,  by  Mazeline  and  Hurtelle,  of  the  Chan- 
cellor Michel  le  Tellier,  1685,  preserved  in  the  museum  of 
the  Petits-Augustins  during  the  Revolution.  His  son,  the 
Archbishop  of  Reims,  the  chancellors  Louis  Boucherat 
and  Charles  Voysin,  the  painter  Philippe  de  Champaigne, 
the  philosopher  Ducange,  and  the  poet  Crebillon,  were 
buried  here  in  the  vaults,  but  their  tombs  are  destroyed. 
The  Lady  Chapel,  of  1417,  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  flam- 
boyant  gothic,  spoilt   by  paint   and   gilding.     The  three 

*  Martyred  at  Milan  under  Nero. 


STS.    GEJ^VAIS  ET  PRO  TA  IS  219 

windows  of  the  apse  are  attributed    to  Pinaigrier.     The 
vaulting  is  a  chef-d'œuvre. 

"  Without  lingering  longer  on  the  pendentive  keystones,  or 
the  little  angels  suspended  in  the  groins,  we  must  mention  the 
crown,  perforated  clear  through,  which  seems  to  descend  from 
the  vaulting,  as  a  magnificent  emblem  of  that  which  the  Virgin 
received  in  heaven.  It  is  six  feet  across  and  three  feet  and  a 
half  in  depth.  Of  course,  iron  has  here  come  to  the  assistance 
of  the  builder's  skill.  But,  still,  it  required  much  practical  dex- 
terity, even  with  this  aid,  to  overcome  the  difficulties  of  cutting 
and  to  place  such  a  piece  of  ornamentation  as  the  brothers  Jacquet 
accomplished,  who  were  regarded,  for  other  reasons,  as  the  most 
ingenious  masons  of  their  time.  The  date  of  1547  is  visible  in 
letters  in  relief  on  the  rim  of  the  crown.  A  fortified  donjon  and 
some  stars  recall  the  titles  of  Tower  of  David  and  Star  of  the  Morn- 
ing, given  in  the  litanies  to  the  mother  of  Jesus." — De  Gtiilhermy. 

The  chapel  of  St.  Denis  (left  transept)  has  a  picture 
(1500),  of  many  compartments,  representing  the  Passion 
and  Crucifixion,  attributed  to  Albert  Durer.  From  the 
first  chapel  of  the  nave  (descending)  is  entered  the  ora- 
tory, called  the  Chapelle  de  Scarron,  built  by  Jacques 
Betaud,  Président  de  la  Cour  des  Comptes  (1684),  and 
adorned  by  Francks  with  Scriptural  subjects,  the  saints 
being  represented  in  periwigs.  Paul  Scarron,  first  hus- 
band of  Mme  de  Maintenon,  was  buried  here.  In  the 
chapel  of  St.  Philomene  the  saint  is  represented  in  a 
grotto.  The  altar-piece  of  the  chapel  of  St.  Laurence  is 
XVI.  c.  :  but  all  the  best  pictures  of  the  church  have  been 
carried  off  to  the  Louvre.  St.  Gervais  was  one  of  the 
especial  scenes  of  the  Fête  de  la  Raison. 

"  At  St.  Germain,  there  was  no  banquet  at  the  ceremony  ;  the 
women  from  the  market  St.  Jean  came  in  with  fish  knives,  and 
all  the  church  smelled  of  herrings.  The  saloop  sellers  clinked 
their  glasses,  to  quench  the  thirst  produced  by  the  salted  food. 
There  was  a  ball  in  the  Lady  Chapel,  where  some  lamps  that 
gave   out   more  smoke  than   light,    served  for  chandeliers.     In 


220 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


fact,  in  order  not  to  leave  a  single  moment  for  modesty,  night 
was  added  to  depravity,  so  that  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion  of 
these  assemblies,  the  abominable  lusts,  kindled  during  the  da)% 
might  be  freely  gratified  during  the  darkness." — Mercier,  ''Le 
Nouveau  Paris." 

A  house,  now  pulled  down,  which  concealed  the  view  of 
the  portico  de  St.  Gervais,  was  long  inhabited  by  Voltaire. 


AT  THE  BACK  OF  ST.  GERVAIS. 


The  open  space  in  front  of  St.  Gervais  was  long  known 
as  Place  du  Martroy.  This  name,  with  that  of  the  Rue  du 
Martroy  (from  martreium,  martyrium),  commemorated  the 
many  executions  which  took  place  there,  beginning  with  a 
priest  and  a  woman  burnt  for  heresy  and  a  relapsed  Jew — 


HOTEL   DE   VILLE  221 

under  Philippe  le  Bel;  followed  (April,  13 14)  by  the  hor- 
rible execution  of  Philippe  and  Gauthier  d'Aulnay,  the 
supposed  lovers  of  Marguerite  and  Blanche,  wives  of  Louis 
le  Hutin  and  his  brother  and  successor  Charles — roasted, 
mutilated,  and  finally  beheaded. 

We  now  reach  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  rebuilt  by  Ballu  and 
Deperthes  after  the  destruction  (May  24,  1871)  of  its  more 
magnificent  predecessor  during  the  reign  of  the  Commune, 
which  had  been  proclaimed  there  on  the  26th  of  the  pre- 
ceding March.  The  name  of  the  Salle  Stjeafi  is  ail  that 
recalls  the  existence  of  the  old  church  of  St.  Jean-en- 
Greve,'  once  the  baptistery  of  St.  Gervais,  where  the  miracu- 
lous Host  of  the  Rue  des  Billettes  was  constantly  adored, 
and  which  was  afterwards  swallowed  up  in  the  buildings 
of  the  municipal  palace. 

From  Roman  times  Paris,  or  Lutece,  as  a  municipal 
town,  had  administrators  elected  by  the  chief  citizens,  with 
a  préfet  named  by  government,  who  afterwards  took  the 
name  of  comte,  then  of  vicomte.  These  early  préfets 
resided  on  the  Isle  de  la  Cité,  and  the  earliest  municipal 
council  appears  to  have  been  the  Collège  des  Nantes 
(Bateliers),  which  held  its  meetings  on  the  island,  on  the 
site  afterwards  occupied  by  the  Hôtel  des  Ursins.  It  is 
supposed,  however,  that  the  first  building  erected  as  a  kind 
of  Hôtel  (de  Ville  was  an  old  edifice  (only  destroyed  in 
1744)  near  the  Petit  Pont.  At  the  same  time  Le  Parloir 
aux  Bourgeois,  which  existed  in  the  Rue  St.  Jacques,  was 
a  tribunal  of  commerce. 

It  was  Etienne  Marcel,  mayor  of  Paris,  who  first  estab. 
lished  the  municipal  council  at  the  Place  de  Grève,  at  that 

'  Famous  in  1508  for  the  revivalist  sermons  of  FrCre  Maillard,  the  Savona- 
rola uf  France.  His  vigorous,  fearless  discourses  {Maillardi  Sermones)  are 
well  worth  examining,  as  an  exposure  of  the  luxury  and  licentiousness  of  the 
time,  especially  amongst  the  clergy. 


2  22  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

time  the  only  large  square  in  Paris.  In  July,  1357,  he 
purchased  as  un  Hostel  de  Ville  the  Maison  aux  Piliers, 
which  had  been  inhabited  by  Clémence  d'Hongrie,  widow 
of  Louis  le  Hutin,  and  which  afterwards  took  the  name  of 
Maison  du  Dauphin  ("Domus  domini  Delphini  in  Grieve") 
from  her  nephew  and  heir,  Guy,  Dauphin  de  Viennois.  In 
1532  a  new  Hôtel  de  Ville  was  begun  and  finished  by  the 
architect  Marin  de  la  Vallée  in  the  reign  of  Henri  IV. 
This  was  so  much  altered  by  successive  restorations  and 
revolutions  that  only  a  staircase,  two  monumental  chim- 
ney-pieces in  the  Salle  du  Trône,  and  some  sculptured 
doorways  and  other  details  remained  from  the  interior 
decorations  in  the  old  building  at  the  time  of  its  destruc- 
tion. 

Till  the  time  of  Louis  XVI.  the  history  of  the  Hôtel 
de  Ville  was  entirely  local  ;  after  that  it  became  the  his- 
tory of  France.  It  was  there  that  Louis  XVI.  received 
the  tri-colored  cockade  from  Bailly,  mayor  of  Paris,  July 
17,  1789  ;  and  there,  in  the  chamber  called,  from  its  hang- 
ings, Le  Cabinet  Vert,  ^  that  Robespierre  was  arrested,  in 
the  name  of  the  Convention,  during  one  of  the  meetings 
of  the  Commune,  July  27,  1794. 

"  Here,  in  the  great  hall,  the  Robespierrists  awaited  in  silence 
the  result  of  the  appeal  to  the  sections.  Robespierre  and  his 
more  immediate  friends  had  withdrawn  to  an  adjoining  room  for 
private  conversation.  Suddenly  several  shots  were  heard  in  the 
hall,  and  a  terrible  report  spread  like  wildfire  that  Robespierre 
had  taken  his  own  life.  On  receiving  the  intelligence  that  the 
National  Guard  had  everj^Avhere  decided  for  the  Convention,  St. 
Just  and  Lebas  called  on  their  chief  to  go  forth  in  person  and 
lead  his  few  faithful  followers  to  attack  the  Convention.  '  When 
Robespierre,  broken  in  spirit,  refused  compliance,  Lebas,  who 
on  the  previous  day  had  already  expected  an  unfavorable  issue, 

^  This  famous  room  was  pulled  down  before  the  destruction  of  the  late 
Hôtel  de  Ville. 


H^  TEL   DE   VILLE  223 

cried,  'Well,  then,  there  is  nothing  left  for  us  but  to  die.'  He 
had  a  pair  of  pistols  with  him,  one  of  which  he  handed  to  Robes- 
pierre, and  shot  himself  with  the  other  at  the  same  moment.  St. 
Just  remained  on  this  occasion  and  during  the  whole  day  in  a 
state  of  gloomy  repose,  but  Robespierre  put  his  weapon  to  his 
mouth  and  pulled  the  trigger  with  an  unsteady  finger  ;  in  his  hesi- 
tation he  shattered  his  chin,  but  did  not  wound  himself  mortally. 
Almost  at  the  same  moment  Léonard  Bourdon  led  his  troops  into 
the  Hôtel  de  Ville,  where  the  city  party,  in  their  wild  confusion 
and  despair,  were  unable  to  decide  on  any  common  course  of 
action.  The  younger  brother  of  Robespierre  jumped  out  of  the 
window  to  the  pavement,  but  was  still  alive  when  he  was  seized 
below.  Henriot  was  shot  through  the  panes  by  one  of  his  own 
party  who  was  enraged  at  his  want  of  self-possession,  and  fell 
upon  a  heap  of  rubbish  only  slightly  wounded.  They  were  all 
arrested  within  a  few  minutes.  After  the  declaration  of  outlawry 
there  was  no  need  of  any  further  judicial  proceedings,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  afternoon  that  the  preparations  for  their  execution 
had  been  completed.  Robespierre  had  been  laid  on  a  table,  with 
a  box  under  his  wounded  head  ;  he  remained  still  and  silent,  and 
only  moved  to  wipe  the  blood,  which  flowed  copiously  from  his 
face,  with  pieces  of  paper  ;  he  heard  nothing  about  him  but  words 
of  wrath  and  triumph,  yet  he  never  moved  a  muscle,  and  regarded 
his  persecutors  with  fixed  and  glassy  eyes.  At  last  the  carts  ar- 
rived to  bear  him  and  his  twenty-one  companions  to  the  place  of 
execution.  On  the  scaffold  the  executioner  tore  away  the  scanty 
bandage  from  his  head,  and  then  he  uttered  a  shrill  cry  of  pain, 
the  first  sound  which  had  proceeded  from  him  since  his  arrest, 
and  the  last.  On  the  following  day  seventy-one  members  of  the 
municipality  followed  him  to  death  :  the  Reign  of  Terror  ended 
in  a  terrible  sea  of  blood." — Heinrich  von  Sybel,  ''Hist,  of  the 
Revolution." 

After  the  fall  of  Robespierre  it  was  seriously  proposed 
to  pull  down  the  Hôtel  de  Ville,  because  it  had  been  his 
last  asylum — "Le  Louvre  de  Robespierre."  It  was  only 
saved  by  the  common-sense  of  Le'onard  Bourdon. 

But  most  of  all,  in  the  popular  recollection,  is  the 
Hôtel  de  Ville  connected  with  public  fêtes — with  those  on 
the  second  marriage  of  Napoleon  I.  (18 10),  on  the  entry 


224  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

of  Louis  XVIII.  (1814),  on  the  coronation  of  Charles  X. 
(1825),  on  the  marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  (1837), 
on  the  visits  of  different  foreign  potentates  to  Napoleon 
III.  Here  also  was  the  Republic  proclaimed,  September 
4,  1870. 

It  was  in  one  of  the  windows  of  the  Hôtel  de  Ville 
that  Louis  Philippe  embraced  Lafayette  (August,  1830)  in 
sight  of  the  people,  to  evince  the  union  of  the  July  mon- 
archy with  the  bourgeoisie.  On  the  steps  of  the  building 
Louis  Blanc  proclaimed  the  Republic,  February  24,  1848. 
From  September  4,  1870,  to  February  28,  187 1,  the  hotel 
was  the  seat  of  the  "  gouvernement  de  la  de'fense  na- 
tionale," and  from  March  19  to  May  22,  1871,  that  of  the 
pretended  "  Comité  du  salut  public  "  of  the  Communists. 
On  May  24  it  was  burnt  by  its  savage  defenders,  many  of 
whom  happily  perished  in  the  flames. 

The  Place  de  V Hotel  de  Ville  is  so  modernized  that  it 
retains  nothing  of  the  Place  de  Grève  but  its  terrible  his- 
toric associations.  Amongst  the  many  fearful  executions 
here,  it  is  only  necessary  to  recall  that  of  Jean  Hardi,  torn 
to  pieces  by  four  horses  (March  30,  1473)  on  an  accusa- 
tion of  trying  to  poison  Louis  XI.  ;  that  of  the  Comte  de 
St.  Pol  (December  19,  1475),  long  commemorated  by  a 
pillar  ;  those  of  a  long  list  of  Protestants,  opened  by  the 
auto-de-fe  of  Jacques  de  Povanes,  student  of  the  Uni- 
versity, in  1525;  tiiat  of  Nicolas  de  Salcède,  Sieur  d'Au- 
villers,  torn  to  pieces  by  four  horses  in  the  presence  of  the 
king  and  queens,  for  conspiracy  to  murder  the  Due  d'Anjou, 
youngest  son  of  Catherine  de  Medicis.  More  terrible  still 
was  the  execution  of  Ravaillac  (May  27,  16 10),  murderer 
of  Henri  IV. 

*'  The  executioner  cut  off  his  hand  with  an  axe,  and  threw  it 
and  the  murderous  knife  into  the  fire.     His  breasts,  his  arms  and 


PLACE  DE   VIIOTEL   DE    VILLE  225 

his  legs  were  torn  with  pincers,  and  boiling  oil  and  melted  lead 
poured  into  the  open  wounds.  He  was  then  dismembered  by 
four  strong  horses,  which  pulled  for  no  less  than  an  entire  hour. 
They  dismembered  only  a  corpse.  'He  expired,'  said  L'Estoile, 
'  at  the  second  or  third  pull  {tirade).  When  the  executioner  had  to 
throw  the  limbs  into  the  fire  that  the  ashes,  according  to  the  sen- 
tence, might  be  flung  to  the  winds,  the  whole  crowd  rushed  on  to 
claim  them.'  '  But,'  adds  the  same  chronicler,  *  the  people  rushed 
on  so  impetuously  that  ever}'^  mother's  son  had  a  piece,  even  the 
children,  who  made  fires  of  them  at  the  corners  of  the  streets.'  " — 
Fai  is  à  travers  les  âges. 

The  next  great  execution  here  was  that  of  Leonora 

Galigai,    Maréchale    d'Ancre,    foster-sister    of    Marie   de 

Medicis,   beheaded,    crying,  "  Oime'    poveretta  !  "      Then 

came  three  noble  young  men,  a  Montmorency,  a  Boute- 

ville,  and  a  Des  Chapelles,  executed  for  having  fought  in 

the  duel  of   three  against  three,   June    27,    1627.      The 

Maréchal  de  Marillac,  executed  by  Richelieu,  was  allowed 

to  suffer  upon  a  scaffold  on  the  steps  of  the  Hôtel  de 

Ville.       Under  Louis  XIV.   came   the  execution  of   the 

Marquise  de  Brinvilliers,  of  whom  Mme  de  Sévigné  wrote 

(in  allusion  to  her  ashes  being  thrown   to   the  winds)  : 

"  Enfin,  c'en  est  fait,  la  Brinvilliers  est  en  Pair."     March 

28,    1757,   was    marked    by   the    horrible    execution    of 

Damiens,  the  fanatic  who  tried  to  kill  Louis  XV. 

"  The  aforesaid  prisoner,  we  read  in  the  official  report,  was 
bound  to  the  scaffold,  where  at  first  he  had  his  hand  burnt,  hold- 
ing in  the  same  the  knife  with  which  he  committed  the  parricide. 
His  nipples,  arms,  thighs  and  calves  were  torn  by  pincers,  and 
into  the  said  places  was  poured  melted  lead,  boiling  oil,  pitch 
and  sulphur  melted  together  ;  during  all  this  punishment  the 
prisoner  kept  crying,  '  My  God,  strength,  strength  !  O  Lord, 
my  God,  have  pity  on  me  !  O  Lord,  my  God,  how  I  suffer  !  O 
Lord,  my  God,  give  me  patience  !  '  At  length  he  was  drawn  by 
four  horses,  and  after  several  pulls  was  dismembered  and  the 
limbs  and  body  thrown  into  the  fire." — Paris  h  travers  les  âges. 

After  the  capture  of  the  Bastille  its  brave  governor, 


2  26  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

M.  de  Launay,  was  beheaded  on  the  steps  of  the  Hôtel  de 
Ville,  and  his  major,  M.  de  Losme-Salbray,  was  massacred 
under  the  Arcade  St.  Jean.  These  were  the  first  victims 
of  the  Revolution.  Foulon,  Intendant  du  Commerce, 
suffered  here  soon  afterwards,  hung  from  the  cords  by 
which  a  lamp  was  suspended,  whence  the  expression, 
which  soon  resounded  in  many  a  popular  refrain,  of 
"  mettre  les  aristocrats  à  la  lanterne  " — especially  in  the 
famous  "  carillon  national  :  "  ^ 

*  Ah  !  ça  ira,  ça  ira,  ça  ira, 
Les  aristocrate'  à  la  lanterne  ! 
Ah  !  ça  ira,  ça  ira,  ça  ira, 
Les  aristocrate',  on  les  pendra." 

"The  ex-minister  Foulon  was  conducted  to  the  Hôtel  de 
Ville.  He  was  detested  by  the  people  ;  he  was  accused  of 
peculation  during  the  Seven  Years'  War,  of  great  harshness,  and 
of  the  improbable  remark  that  '  the  people  would  be  too  happy 
if  they  had  grass  to  eat.'  .  .  .  The  report  of  the  electors  shows 
what  efforts  La  Fa3^ette  made  to  rescue  the  unhappy  man  from 
the  inexpressible  rage  of  the  people,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say 
what  would  have  been  the  result  when  terrible  cries  came  from 
the  square  of  the  Hôtel  de  Ville.  Several  voices,  at  the  end  of 
the  hall,  exclaimed  that  the  Palais  Royal  and  the  Faubourg  St. 
Antoine  were  coming  to  take  away  the  prisoner.  The  stairs  and 
passages  of  the  HOtel  de  Ville  resounded  with  appalling  cries. 
A  new  crowd  pressed  on  the  crowd  that  filled  already  the  large 
hall  ;  all  were  in  confusion  at  once,  and  all  borne  on  with  violence 
towards  the  desk  and  the  table  where  M.  Foulon  was  seated. 
The  chair  was  upset,  and  then  M.  de  la  Fayette  pronounced  in  a 
loud  voice  the  words,   '  Take  him  to  prison  !  ' 

"To  this  account,  which  is  exact,  it  must  be  added  that  M. 
de  la  Fayette,  after  again  attempting  to  appease  the  multitude, 
was  loudly  applauded,  when  Foulon  took  the  unfortunate  notion 
of  applauding  also.  A  voice  exclaimed,  '  See,  there  is  an  under- 
standing between  them!'  At  these  words,  Foulon,  torn  from 
the  hands  of  the  electors,  who  surrounded  and  endeavored  to 
protect  him,  was  dragged  out  and  massacred  at  the  Grève,  while 

*  Sung  at  '  la  première  FLcIération,  July  14, 1790. 


TOUR  DR   ST.  JACQUES  227 

there  was  not  the  physical  possibility  for  La  Fayette,  I  do  not 
say  to  protect  him,  but  even  to  make  himself  \\G^ràr—LaFayeiit; 
"Mémoires." 

Louvel,  the  murderer  of  the  Due  de  Berry,  was  the  last 
person  executed  at  the  Place  de  Grève,  his  last  request 
having  been  granted,  that  he  might  go  into  mourning  for 
himself  ! 

It  was  here  that  a  pig  ran  between  the  legs  of  the  horse 
which  the  young  king  Philippe  (son  of  Louis  le  Gros)  was 
riding,  and  caused  the  fall  of  which  he  died  the  next  day 
(October,  1131),  in  consequence  of  which  it  was  forbidden 
to  any  one  to  let  his  pigs  wander  in  the  streets,  those  of 
the  abbey  of  St.  Antoine  only  being  excepted,  out  of 
respect  to  their  patron  saint.^ 

The  Pont  de  la  Grève  is  now  the  Pont  d'Arcole. 

"On  the  28th  July,  1830,  during  the  attack  on  the  Hôtel  de 
Ville  by  the  Parisians,  a  young  man,  one  of  the  group  of  combat- 
ants who  where  firing  from  the  Cité  on  the  Place  de  Grève, 
darted  on  the  bridge,  and  almost  at  once  fell  mortally  wounded,' 
crying,  '  Souvenez-vous  que  je  m'appelle  d'Arcole!'  Truth  or  fable 
devised  by  popular  imagination,  this  gave  the  bridge  the  name  it 
still  bears." — Frédéric  Lock. 

Now  the  magnificent  Tour  de  St.  Jacques  rises  before  us. 
It  is- the  only  remnant  of  a  great  church— St.  Jacques  de 
la  Boucherie,  which  formerly  gave  sanctuary  to  murderers. 
The  church  dated  from  the  XL  c.  to  the  XV.  c,  but  was 
sold  and  pulled  down  during  the  Revolution.  The  tower, 
which  dates  from  the  reign  of  Louis  XII.,  1508-22,  is  the 
finest  in  Paris.  It  looked  far  better,  however,  when  rising 
from  a  group  of  houses,  than  on  the  meaningless  platform 
which  now  surrounds  it,  and,  unfortunately,  instead  of  re- 
storing the  old  chapel  of  St.  Quentin,  which  formerly 
existed  beneath  it,  the  tower  has  been  used  as  a  canopy 

^  Saint-Foix,  Essais  hist,  sur  Paris. 


228  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

for  a  feeble  Statue  of  Pascal  by  Cavelier,  placed  here  be- 
cause from  hence  he  continued  his  experiments  on  the 
weight  of  the  air,  begun  in  the  Puy-de-Dôme.  There  is  a 
fine  view  from  the  summit  of  the  tower,  where  the  north- 
west pinnacle  is  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  St.  James  the 
Great  by  Rault,  the  others  by  the  mystic  animals  of  the 
Evangelists  ;  a  spire  thirty  feet  high  once  crowned  the 
whole.  Different  confraternities  had  their  chapels  in  the 
church.  In  that  of  the  spur-makers,  both  on  the  windows 
and  cornice,  were  representations  of  the  XV.  c.  philan- 
thropist Nicolas  Flamel,  who  was  buried  here  (141 7) 
with  his  wife  Perenelle  (1397)  ;  his  curious  gravestone  is 
now  in  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny  with  an  epitaph  ending  in  the 
lines — 

"  De  terre  je  suis  venu  et  en  terre  retorne, 
L'âme  rends  à  toi  J.H.S.  qui  les  péchiés  pardonne."^ 

The  Boulevard  de  Sébastopol  now  leads  past  the  tower 
to  the  Place  du  Châtelet,  where  the  ugly  Fontaine  de  la  Vic- 
toire^ designed  by  Bralle,  marks  the  site  of  the  picturesque 
and  curious  old  fortress  of  Le  Grande  Châtelet,  through 
which  a  vaulted  passage  formed  the  approach  to  the  Rue 
St.  Denis  from  the  Pont  du  Change,  formerly  lined  with 
houses.  The  fortress,  which  had  a  massive  tower  at  the 
north-east  angle,  was  of  considerable  size,  and  enclosed 
several  courtyards,  surrounded  by  prisons,  known  by 
familiar  and  often  very  terrible  names.  The  horrors  of 
the  prisons  and  of  the  torture  chamber  of  the  Châtelet 
were  portrayed  in  the  verses  of  Clément  Marot  and  in 

^  It  was  long  believed  in  Paris  that  Nicolas  and  Perenelle  were  not  really- 
dead.  It  was  said  that  they  had  feigned  sickness,  caused  two  logs  of  wood  to 
be  buried  in  their  place,  and  escaped  to  Switzerland,  thence  to  Asia  Minor, 
where  Paul  Lucas,  a  traveller  of  the  end  of  the  XVII.  c,  affirms  that  he  met  a 
dervish  who  had  recently  seen  them  and  knew  them  intimately.  See  Voyage  de 
Paul  Lucas  dans  r Asie-Mineure,  vol.  ii.  ch.  12. 


LE   PONT  AU   CHANGE 


229 


endless  engravings  and  ballads,  through  a  long  'course  of 
years.  Jn  the  crypt,  under  "le  père  des  lettres,"  François 
I.,  ''on  donnait  aux  imprimeurs  relaps  la  question  à  seize 
crans."  On  September  2,  1792,  214  prisoners  were 
massacred  in  the  Châtelet.  Within  the  valuted  passage, 
on  entering  from  the  river,  was  a  morgue,  predecessor  of 
that  now  existing  on  the  island. 

Between  the  Châtelet  and  the  bridge,  on  the  east  side, 
were,  first,  a  "  Parloir  aux  Bourgeois,"  in  which  municipal 
meetings  were  held,  and  then  the  church  of  St.  Leufïroi, 
which  dated  from  1113.  The  monks  of  the  abbey  of  St. 
Croix  de  Leuffroi  in  the  diocese  of  Evreux,  had  brought 
hither  the  bodies  of  Sts.  Leuffroi  and  Thuriaf  to  preserve 
them  from  the  Normans.  When  the  danger  was  over  they 
reclaimed  their  relics,  but  could  only  obtain  an  arm  of  St. 
Thuriaf.  The  church  was  rebuilt  in  the  XIV.  c,  but  was 
pulled  down  in  1684  to  enlarge  the  prisons  of  the  Châ- 
telet. In  the  last  century  a  narrow  street  called  Rue 
Trop-va-qui-dure  (an  inexplicable  name)  ran  between  the 
front  of  the  Châtelet  with  its  great  round  towers,  and  a 
block  of  buildings  called  the  Pointe  du  Pont  au  Change, 
on  the  front  of  which,  facing  down  the  bridge,  was  a  curi- 
ous monument  to  Louis  XIII.,  on  which  he  was  repre- 
sented with  Anne  of  Austria  and  Louis  XIV.  as  an  infant. 

The  money-changers  took  possession  of  the  Grand 
Pont  in  the  middle  of  the  XII.  c,  after  which  it  received 
the  name  of  the  Pont  an  Change.  Here,  in  accordance 
with  an  old  custom,  when  a  sovereign  made  his  first  public 
entry  into  Paris,  the  bird-sellers  were  bound  to  give  liberty 
to  2,400  birds,  "so  that  the  air  was  darkened  by  the  beat- 
ing of  their  wings."  The  bridge  was  rebuilt  in  1639,  and 
is  the  widest  of  the  Parisian  bridges. 

The  Avenue  Victoria,  which  runs  behind  the  site  of  the 


230 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


Châtelet,  crosses  (a  little  to  the  north-west)  the  site  of  the 
Hôtel  du  Chevalier  du  Guet,  a  curious  gothic  building, 
dating  from  the  time  of  St.  Louis,  and  used  as  a  mairie, 
till  its  most  deplorable  destruction  in  1864.  A  little 
further,  in.  the  Rue  des  Orfèvres,  a  narrow  street  between 
this  and  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  stood  the  Chapelle  St. 
Eloy,  dating  from  1403,  but  rebuilt  by  Philibert  Delorme, 
with  ornaments  by  Gepmain  Pilon.  It  was  sold  in  the 
Revolution. 

A  house  behind  the  Quai  de  la  Mégisserie,  at  the 
corner  of  Rue  Bertin-Poire'e  and  Rue  St.  Germain 
I'Auxerrois,  stands  on  the  substructions  of  For  TEveque 
(Forum  Episcopi),^  the  seat  of  the  temporal  jurisdiction  of 
the  bishops  of  Paris.  Here  the  bishop's  provost  inflicted 
his  sentences.  If  people  were  to  be  burned  alive  it  must 
be  outside  the  banlieue  of  Paris,  but  if  only  their  ears  were 
to  be  cut  off  it  would  be  executed  at  the  Place  du  Trahoir. 
Du  Chastel,  who  tried  to  murder  Henri  IV.  at  the  Hôtel 
du  Bouchage,  was  imprisoned  here.  For  I'Eveque  was 
suppressed  under  Louis  XVI.  by  the  advice  of  Necker. 

The  Place  du  Châtelet  is  the  point  where  curious  visit- 
ors usually  enter  Subterraneaîi  Paris ^  with  its  vast  system 
of  sewers  [egouts).  They  are  generally  shown  once  every 
week  in  summer.  Visitors  must  make  a  written  applica- 
tion to  the  Préfet  de  la  Seine,  who  will  send  a  card  of 
admittance  announcing  the  time  and  starting-point.  The 
ramifications  of  the  vast  system  by  which  the  drainage  of 
Paris  is  conducted  are  a  yery  curious  sight,  and  evil  odors 
are  not  much  to  be  dreaded. 

"  Digging  the  sewerage  of  Paris  was  no  small  task.  The 
last  ten  centuries  have  toiled  at  it  without  being  able  to  finish,  no 

^  Adrien  de  Valois  says  that  the  name  came  from  the  Four  I'Eveque,  be- 
cause there  was  an  oven  here  whither  the  bishop's  vassals  came  to  bake  their 
bread. 


LES  ÊGOUTS  231 

more  than  they  could  finish  Paris.  The  sewer,  in  fact,  receives 
all  the  counterstrokes  of  the  growth  of  Paris.  It  is  in  the  ground 
a  species  of  dark  polype  with  a  thousand  antennae,  which  grows 
below,  equally  with  the  city  above.  Each  time  that  the  city 
forms  a  street,  the  sewer  stretches  out  an  arm.  The  old  monar- 
chy only  constructed  twenty-three  thousand  three  hundred  metres 
of  drain,  and  Paris  had  reached  that  point  on  Januar)^  ist,  1806. 
From  this  period,  to  which  we  shall  presently  revert,  the  work 
has  been  usefully  and  energetically  taken  up  and  continued. 
Napoleon  built — and  the  figures  are  curious — four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  four  metres  ;  Charles  X.,  ten  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-six  ;  Louis  Philippe,  eighty-nine  thousand 
and  twenty  ;  the  Republic  of  1848,  twenty-three  thousand  three 
hundred  and  eighty-one  ;  the  present  government  seventy  thou- 
sand five  hundred  ;  altogether  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  thou- 
sand six  hundred  metres,  or  sixty  leagues  of  sewer — the  enor- 
mous entrails  of  Paris — an  obscure  ramification  constantly  at 
work,  an  unknown  and  immense  construction. 

"  At  the  present  day  the  sewer  is  clean,  cold,  straight  and  cor- 
rect, and  almost  realizes  the  ideal  of  what  is  understood  in  Eng- 
land by  the  word  '  respectable.'  It  is  neat  and  gray  ;  built  with 
the  plumb-line,  we  might  almost  say  coquettishly.  It  resembles 
a  contractor  who  has  become  a  councillor  of  state.  You  almost 
see  clearly  in  it,  and  the  mud  behaves  itself  decently.  At  the 
first  glance  you  might  be  inclined  to  take  it  for  one  of  those  sub- 
terranean passages  so  common  formerly,  and  so  useful  for  the 
flights  of  monarchs  and  princes  in  the  good  old  times  'when  the 
people  loved  its  kings.'  The  present  sewer  is  a  handsome  sewer, 
the  pure  style  prevails  there  ;  the  classic  rectilinear  Alexandrine, 
which,  expelled  from  poetry,  appears  to  have  taken  refuge  in 
architecture,  seems  blended  with  all  the  stones  of  this  long, 
dark,  and  white  vault  ;  each  vomitory  is  an  arcade,  and  the  Rue 
de  Rivoli  sets  the  fashion  even  in  the  cloaca.  However,  if  the 
geometric  line  be  anywhere  in  its  place,  it  is  assuredly  so  in  the 
stercoreous  trench  of  a  great  city,  where  everything  must  be 
subordinated  to  the  shortest  road.  The  sewer  has  at  the  present 
day  assumed  a  certain  official  aspect,  and  the  police  reports  of 
which  it  is  sometimes  the  object,  are  no  longer  deficient  in  re- 
spect to  it.  The  words  which  characterize  it  in  the  administrative 
language  are  lofty  and  dignified  ;  what  used  to  be  called  a  gut  is 
now  called  a  gallery,  and  what  used  to  be  a  hole  is  now  a  '  look.' 
This  net-work  of  cellars  still  has  its  population  of  rodents,  pul- 


232 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


lulating  more  than  ever  ;  from  time  to  time  a  rat,  an  old  mus- 
tache, ventures  his  head  at  the  window  of  the  drain  and  exam- 
ines the  Parisians  ;  but  even  these  vermin  are  growing  tame, 
as  they  are  satisfied  with  their  subterranean  palace.  The  cloaca 
no  longer  retains  its  primitive  ferocity,  and  the  rain  which  sul- 
lied the  drain  of  olden  times,  washes  that  of  the  present  day. 
Still,  do  not  trust  to  it  too  entirely,  for  miasmas  still  inhabit  it, 
and  it  is  rather  hypocritical  than  irreproachable.  In  spite  of  all 
the  prefecture  of  police  and  the  board  of  health  have  done,  it 
exhales  a  vague  suspicious  odor,  like  Tartuffe  after  confession." 
—  Victor  Hugo,  '^  Les  Misérables.''^ 

Zola  describes  the  marvellous  effects  of  sunset  which 
so  many  will  have  admired  from  the  quays  on  this  side  of 
the  Seine. 

"  On  days  when  the  sky  was  clear,  as  they  debouched  from 
the  Pont  Louis  Philippe,  the  whole  valley  of  the  quays — im- 
mense, infinite — unfolded  before  them.  From  one  end  to  the 
other,  the  sloping  sun  warmed  with  golden  notes  the  houses  on 
the  right  bank,  while  the  left  bank,  the  islands  and  the  buildings, 
stood  out  a  clear  cut  black  line  against  the  fiaming  glory  of  the 
sunset.  Between  this  brilliant  margin  and  this  sombre  margin, 
the  Seine  gleamed,  all  spangled,  cut  by  the  thin  bars  of  its 
bridges,  the  five  arches  of  the  Pont  Notre  Dame  beneath  the 
single  arch  of  the  Pont  d'Arcole,  then  the  Pont  au  Change,  then 
the  Pont  Neuf,  finer  and  ever  finer,  displayed,  each  beyond  its 
shadow,  a  bright  streak  of  light  and  a  water  of  blue  satin,  pale 
as  if  reflected  in  a  mirror  ;  and  while  the  twilight  outlines  on  the 
left  were  terminated  by  the  silhouette  of  the  pointed  towers  of 
the  Palais  de  Justice,  drawn  in  charcoal  on  the  void,  a  soft  curve 
swept  round  to  the  right  in  clear  radiance,  so  long  drawn  out,  so 
lost  in  distance,  that  the  pavilion  of  Flora,  far  away,  standing 
forth  like  a  citadel  at  the  extreme  point,  seemed  a  castle  of 
dreamland,  blue,  light  and  quivering  in  the  midst  of  the  rosy 
vapors  of  the  horizon.  But  they,  bathed  in  sunlight  beneath  the 
leafless  planetrees,  turned  their  eyes  away  from  this  dazzling 
splendor,  to  rest  them  on  certain  nooks  always  the  same,  a  block 
of  very  old  houses  above  the  Mail,  little  shops  of  old  metal  trum- 
pery and  fishing  tackle  in  one  story,  surmounted  by  terraces, 
green  with  laurels  and  virgin  vines  ;  then,  behind,  higher  houses, 
dilapidated,  with  clothes  at  the  windows,  a  whole  pile  of  quaint 


THE   QUA  Y  S   OF   THE   SEINE  233 

constructions,  an  interlacing  of  wood-work  and  masonry,  of 
crumbling  walls  and  hanging  gardens,  where  balls  of  glass 
shone  like  stars.  They  walked  on,  and  soon  left  the  great 
buildings  that  follow,  the  Barracks,  the  Hôtel  de  Ville,  to  centre 
their  attention  on  the  other  bank  of  the  stream,  on  the  Cité, 
packed  in  its  straight  smooth  walls,  without  a  beach.  Above 
the  shadowy  houses,  the  towers  of  Notre  Dame  looked,  in  their 
resplendence,  newly  gilt.  Old  book-stalls  began  to  invade  the 
parapets,  a  lighter  laden  with  charcoal  was  struggling  against  the 
terrible  current,  beneath  an  arch  of  the  Pont  Notre  Dame,  And 
there,  on  the  market  days  for  flowers,  in  spite  of  the  severity  of 
the  season,  they  paused  to  breathe  the  first  violets  and  the  early 
gilliflowers.  On  the  left,  nevertheless,  the  bank  still  stretched, 
lengthening  out  ;  beyond  the  pepper-castor  turrets  of  the  Palais 
de  Justice,  appeared  the  little  faded  houses  of  the  Quai  de  l'Hor- 
loge down  to  the  clumps  of  trees  beyond  the  embankment  ;  then, 
as  they  still  advanced,  other  quays  leaped  out  of  the  mist  ;  far  off, 
the  Quai  de  Voltaire,  the  Quai  Malaquais,  the  cupola  of  the  In- 
stitute, the  square  building  of  the  Mint,  a  long  gray  line  of 
façades  where  even  the  windows  were  indistinguishable,  a  pro- 
montory of  roofs,  which  the  chimney-pots  made  resemble  a  rocky 
cliff,  were  plunged  in  the  midst  of  a  phosphorescent  sea.  In 
front,  on  the  contrar)»-,  the  Pavilion  de  Flore  came  out  of  dream- 
land and  grew  solid  in  the  last  flashes  of  the  orb.  And  then, 
to  right,  to  left,  on  each  bank  of  the  water,  were  distant  perspec- 
tives of  the  Boulevard  Sébastopol,  and  the  Boulevard  du  Palais  ; 
the  new  buildings  of  the  Quai  de  la  Mégisserie,  and  the  new 
Prefecture  of  Police  in  front,  the  old  Pont  Neuf  with  the  ink- 
stain  on  its  statue,  the  Louvre,  the  Tuileries,  then,  beyond  Gre- 
nelle, distances  without  limit,  the  slopes  of  Sèvres  and  the 
country  bathed  in  a  flood  of  rays," — Zola,  *'  H Œuvre.'' 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   FAUBOURG  ST.    ANTOINE   AND   PÈRE-LA- 
CHAISE. 

THE  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  has  always  borne  an  active 
part  in  the  different  revolutions.  It  was  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  street  bearing  the  name,  on  the  left  of  the 
Place  de  la  Bastille,  that  the  great  barricade  of  June,  1848, 
was  erected. 

"The  St.  Antoine  barricade  was  monstrous,  it  was  three 
stories  high  and  seven  hundred  feet  in  width.  It  barred  from 
one  corner  to  the  other  the  vast  mouth  of  the  Faubourg,  that  is 
to  say,  three  streets  ;  ravined,  slashed,  serrated,  surmounted  by 
an  immense  jagged  line,  supported  by  piles  which  were  them- 
selves bastions,  pushing  out  capes  here  and  there,  and  power- 
fully reinforced  by  the  two  great  promontories  of  the  houses  of 
the  Faubourg,  it  rose  like  a  Cyclopean  wall  at  the  back  of  the 
formidable  square  which  had  seen  July  14.  There  were  nineteen 
barricades  erected  in  the  streets  behind  the  mother  barricade, 
only  on  seeing  it  you  felt  in  the  Faubourg  the  immense  agonizing 
suffering  which  had  reached  that  extreme  stage  in  which  misery 
desires  a  catastrophe.  Of  what  was  this  barricade  made?  of 
three  six-storied  houses  demolished  expressly  some  say,  of  the 
prodigy  of  all  anger  others  say.  It  possessed  the  lamentable  as- 
pect of  all  the  buildings  of  hatred,  ruin.  You  might  ask  who 
built  this?  and  you  might  also  ask  who  destroyed  this?  It  was 
the  improvisation  of  the  ebullition.  Here  with  that  door,  that 
grating,  that  awning,  that  chimney,  that  broken  stove,  that  cracked 
stew-pan.  Give  us  anything,  throw  everything  in  !  push,  roll, 
pick,  dismantle,  overthrow,  and  pull  down  everything  !  it  was  a 
collaboration  of  the  pavement-stones,  beams,  iron  bars,  planks, 


LA    FAUBOURG   ST.   ANTOINE 


235 


broken  windows,  unseated  chairs,  cabbage-stalks,  rags,  tatters, 
and  curses.  It  was  great  and  it  was  little,  it  was  the  abyss  par- 
odied on  the  square  by  the  tohubohu.  It  was  the  mass  side  by 
side  with  the  atom,  a  pulled-down  wall  and  a  broken  pipkin,  a 
menacing  fraternization  of  all  fragments,  into  which  Sysiphus 
had  cast  his  rock  and  Job  his  potsherds.  Altogether  it  was  ter- 
rible, it  was  the  acropolis  of  the  barefooted.  Overturned  carts 
studded  the  slope,  an  immense  wain  spread  out  across  it,  with 
its  wheels  to  the  sky,  and  looked  like  a  scar  on  this  tumultuous 
façade,  an  omnibus  gayly  hoisted  by  strength  of  arm  to  the  very 
top  of  the  pile,  as  if  the  architects  of  this  savage  edifice  had 
wished  to  add  mockery  to  the  horror,  offered  its  bare  pole  to  the 
horses  of  the  air.  This  gigantic  mound,  the  alluvium  of  the 
riot,  represented  to  the  mind  an  Ossa  upon  Pelion  of  all  revolu- 
tions, '93  upon  '89,  the  9th  Thermidor  upon  the  loth  August,  the 
i8th  Brumaire  upon  January  21st,  Vendémiaire  upon  Prairial, 
1848  upon  1830.  The  square  was  worth  the  trouble,  and  this 
barricade  was  worthy  of  appearing  upon  the  very  spot  whence  the 
Bastille  had  disappeared.  If  the  ocean  made  dykes  it  would 
build  them  in  this  way,  and  the  fury  of  the  tide  was  stamped  on 
this  shapeless  encumbrance.  What  tide?  the  people.  You  fan- 
cied that  you  saw  a  petrified  riot,  and  heard  the  enormous  dark 
bees  of  violent  progress  humming  about  this  barricade  as  if  they 
had  their  hive  there.  Was  it  a  thicket?  was  it  a  Bacchanalian 
feast?  was  it  a  fortress?  Vertigo  seemed  to  have  built  it  with 
the  flapping  of  its  wings.  There  was  a  sewer  in  this  redoubt, 
and  something  Olympian  in  this  mass.  You  saw  there  in  a  pell- 
mell  full  of  desperation,  gables  of  roofs,  pieces  of  garrets  with 
their  painted  paper,  window-frames  with  all  their  panes  planted 
in  the  confusion  and  awaiting  the  cannon,  pulled  down  mantel- 
pieces, chests  of  drawers,  tables,  benches,  a  howling  overthrow, 
and  those  thousand  wretched  things  cast  away  even  by  a  beggar 
which  contain  at  once  fury  and  nothingness.  It  may  be  said  that 
it  was  the  rags  of  a  people,  rags  of  wood,  of  iron,  of  bronze,  of 
stone,  and  that  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  had  swept  them  to  their 
door  with  a  gigantic  broom,  and  made  a  barricade  of  their 
misery.  Logs  resembling  executioners'  blocks,  anvil  frames  of 
the  shape  of  gallows,  broken  chains,  horizontal  wheels  emerging 
from  the  heap,  produced  on  this  edifice  of  anarchy  the  represen- 
tation of  the  old  punishment  suffered  by  the  people.  The  St. 
Antoine  barricade  made  a  weapon  of  everything.  All  that  civil 
war  can  throw  at  the  head  of  society  came  from  it  ;  it  was  not  a 


236  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

fight,  but  a  paroxysm  :  the  muskets  which  defended  this  redoubt, 
among  whicli  were  several  blunderbusses,  discharged  stones, 
bones,  coat-buttons,  and  even  the  castors  of  night-commodes, 
very  dangerous,  owing  to  the  copper.  This  barricade  was  furious, 
it  hurled  an  indescribable  clamor  into  the  clouds  ;  at  certain  mo- 
ments when  challenging  the  army  it  was  covered  with  a  crowd  and 
a  tempest,  it  had  a  prickly  crest  of  guns,  sabres,  sticks,  axes,  pikes, 
and  bayonets,  a  mighty  red  flag  fluttered  upon  it  in  the  breeze, 
and  the  cries  of  command,  the  songs  of  attack,  the  rolling  of  the" 
drum,  the  sobs  of  women,  and  the  sardonic  laughter  of  men 
dying  of  starvation,  could  be  heard  there.  It  was  immeasurable 
and  living,  and  a  flash  of  lightning  issued  from  it  as  from  the 
back  of  an  electric  animal.  The  spirit  of  revolution  covered  with 
its  cloud  this  summit,  where  that  voice  of  the  people  which  re- 
sembles the  voice  of  God  was  growling,  and  a  strange  majesty 
was  disengaged  from  this  Titanic  mass  of  stones.  It  was  a  dung- 
heap,  and  it  was  Sinai." — Victor  Hugo,  ''Les  Misérables." 

On  the  third  day  of  the  contest  at  the  barricade,  Arch- 
bishop Affre,  whilst  exhorting  the  people  to  peace,  was 
killed  on  this  spot  by  a  ball  from  one  of  the  insurgents. 
He  was  carried  to  the  hospital  of  the  Quinze- Vingts,  es- 
corted by  some  of  the  Gardes  Mobiles.  To  one  of  these, 
whom  he  recognized  as  having  fought  with  especial  bravery 
— one  François  Delavriguière — the  dying  prelate  gave  a 
little  crucifix  which  he  wore,  saying,  "  Never  part  with  this 
cross  ;  lay  it  on  your  heart  ;  it  will  make  you  happy."  ^ 

This  same  spot  was  one  of  the  last  strongholds  of  the 
Communists,  and  was  only  taken  by  the  Versailles  troops 
after  a  desperate  conflict.  May  25,  187 1. 

"This  old  faubourg,  peopled  like  an  ant-heap,  laborious, 
courageous,  and  passionate  as  a  hive  of  bees,  receives  the  coun- 
ter-stroke of  commercial  crises,  bankruptcies,  stoppages,  and 
cessation  of  work,  which  are  inherent  in  all  political  convulsions. 
In  revolutionary  times  misery  is  at  once  the  cause  and  the  effect, 
and  the  blow  which  it  deals  falls  upon  itself  again.  This  popu- 
lation, full  of  haughty  virtue,  capable  of  the  highest  amount  of 

'  Constitutionnel. 


LA   ROQUETTE 


237 


latent  calorie,  ever  ready  to  take  up  arms,  prompt  to  explode, 
irritated,  profound,  and  undermined,  seemed  to  be  only  waiting 
for  the  fall  of  a  spark.  Whenever  certain  sparks  fîoat  about  the 
horizon,  driven  by  the  wind  of  events,  we  cannot  help  thinking 
of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  and  the  formidable  chance  which 
has  placed  at  the  gates  of  Paris  this  powder-magazine  of  suffer- 
ings and  ideas. 

"  The  wine-shops  of  the  Faubourg  Antoine,  which  have  been 
more  than  once  referred  to  in  this  sketch,  possess  an  historic 
notoriety.  In  times  of  trouble  people  grow  intoxicated  in  them 
more  on  words  than  wine  ;  and  a  species  of  prophetic  spirit  and 
an  effluvium  of  the  future  circulates  there,  swelling  hearts  and 
ennobling  minds.  The  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  is  a  reservoir  of 
the  people  in  which  the  revolutionary  earthquake  makes  fissures, 
through  which  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  flows.  This  sover- 
eignty can  act  badly,  it  deceives  itself  like  other  things,  but  even 
when  led  astray  it  remains  grand.  We  may  say  of  it,  as  of  the 
blind  Cyclops,  Ingens.'" — Victor  Hugo,  ''  Les  Misérables.'" 

From  the  Place  de  la  Bastille,  the  Rue  de  la  Roquette 
leads  to  the  Cemetery  of  Père  Lachaise,  just  before  reach- 
ing which  we  pass  on  the  right  the  Prison  of  La  Roquette^ 
or  Nouveau  Bicctre,  also  called  the  *'  Dépôt  des  Con- 
damnés." Executions  take  place  on  the  space  between 
the  prison  and  the  Rue  de  la  Roquette.  There  are  usually 
about  400  prisoners  here,  who  are  generally  obliged  to 
work  at  a  trade — ^joinery,  tool-making,  shoe-making,  tailor- 
ing— and  one  half  of  what  they  have  earned  is  paid  to 
them  when  they  are  discharged.  A  marble  slab  in  the 
prison  records  the  brutal  murder  here  of  Archbishop 
Darboy  ;  Duguerry,  Curé  de  la  Madeleine  ;  the  president 
Bonjean,  and  other  hostages,  by  the  Communists,  May  24, 
187 1,  at  the  moment  when  the  troops  of  the  Government 
were  entering  Paris.  The  cell  of  the  archbishop  is  pre- 
served as  he  left  it  for  his  execution. 

"  The  archbishop  went  first,  rapidly  descended  the  five  steps 
and  turned  round.  When  his  companions  in  martyrdom  were  all 
on  the   steps  he  raised   his   right  hand,    the   first   three   fingers 


238 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


extended,  and  pronounced  the  formula  of  absolution  :  Ego  vos 
absolvo  ab  omnibus  censuris  et  peccatis  !  Then,  approaching  M. 
Bonjean,  who  walked  with  difficulty,  he  offered  him  his  arm. 
Still  preceded  by  the  sergeant  Ramain,  and  surrounded  behind 
and  on  each  flank,  by  the  fédérés,  the  procession  turned  to  the 
right,  and  entered  the  long  first  passage,  which  ended  near  the 
first  court  of  the  prison.  In  front,  a  little  ahead  of  the  others, 
the  Abbé  Allard  walked,  shaking  his  hands  above  his  brow.  A 
witness,  speaking  of  him,  used  an  expression  of  atrocious  sim- 
plicity :  *  He  walked  fast,  gesticulating  and  humming  some- 
thing.' The  something  was  the  prayer  for  the  dying,  which  the 
unhappy  man  repeated  half  aloud.     All  the  others  were  silent. 

"They  came  to  the  railing  called  the  '  railing  of  the  dead,' 
which  closes  the  first  circular  passage  ;  it  was  closed.  Ramain, 
who  was  very  much  troubled  in  spite  of  his  efforts  at  self-control, 
looked  in  vain  for  the  key  in  the  bunch  he  carried.  At  this  time, 
M.  Darboy,  less  perhaps  to  save  his  life  from  his  murderers  than 
to  spare  them  a  crime,  tried  to  argue  with  them  :  '  I  have  always 
loved  the  people,  and  always  loved  liberty.'  A  fédéré  replied  : 
'  Thy  liberty  is  not  ours — you  tire  us  !  '  The  archbishop  was 
silent  and  waited  patiently  till  Ramain  opened  the  railing.  The 
Abbé  Allard  turned  round,  looked  to  the  window  of  the  fourth 
section,  and  saw  some  terrified  prisoners  who  were  watching  them 
in  tears.  They  turned  to  the  left,  then  again  to  the  left,  and 
entered  the  second  circular  passage,  the  high  wall  of  which 
seemed  in  mourning.  At  the  end  rose  the  wall  which  separates 
the  prison  from  the  grounds  adjacent  to  the  Rue  de  la  Folie- 
Regnault. 

"The  spot  was  well  chosen  and  hidden  from  all  view;  it  was 
a  kind  of  sunk  ditch,  the  very  spot  for  ambushes  and  murders. 
Ramain  went  away.  The  victims  and  the  executioners  remained 
face  to  face,  without  a  witness  who  could  hereafter  appeal  to 
justice.  The  place  where  the  bodies  were  found  indicates  that 
the  hostages  were  arranged  in  the  hierarchical  order  which  dictated 
their  classification  in  their  cells.  They  were  ranged  against  the 
wall,  on  the  right,  opposite  the  firing  party.  Mgr  Darboy  first, 
then  President  Bonjean,  the  Abbé  Deguerry,  Father  Ducoudray, 
Father  Clerc,  both  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  then 
Abbé  Allard,  the  chaplain  of  the  ambulances  which,  during  the 
siege  and  the  first  fights  of  the  Commune,  had  rendered  such 
services  to  the  wounded.  The  firing  party  halted  at  thirty  paces 
from  the  six  men,  who  remained  erect  and  resigned.     Two  vol- 


PERE   LA  CHAI  SE  239 

leys  were  fired  and  some  scattering  shots.  It  was  then  a  quarter 
to  eight  in  the  evening." — Maxime  du  CatJip,  ^^ Les  convulsions  de 
Parish 

On  the  left  of  the  road  is  the  Maison  Centrale  (V Educa- 
tion Correctionnelle  or  Prison  des  jeunes  Déteîius,  intended 
for  male  offenders  under  the  age  of  sixteen.  They  are 
taught  twelve  trades,  to  work  at  in  their  cells,  which  they 
never  leave  except  to  hear  mass,  to  see  their  friends  by 
permission  in  the  parloir,  or  for  an  hour's  walk  in  one  of 
the  courts  ;  but  the  prisoners  never  meet,  and  they  are 
only  known — even  to  the  overseer — by  a  number  over  the 
door  of  their  cell. 

Père  Lachaise  is  the  largest  and  richest  of  the  Parisian 
cemeteries.  It  occupies  land  formerly  called  Champ  de 
'Evêque,  because  it  belonged  to  the  Archbishop  of  Paris. 
In  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  under  the  name  of  Mont 
Louis,  it  became  the  head-quarters  of  the  Jesuits,  and  was 
much  embellished  by  their  superior,  the  celebrated  Père 
Lachaise,  confessor  of  Louis  XIV. — "  l'ennemi  le  plus 
acharné  des  re'formés,"  as  "  Madame,"  the  Duchesse  d'Or- 
léans, calls  him.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Order,  the 
land,  sold  to  pay  their  debts,  continued  to  bear  his  name, 
and  was  converted  into  a  public  cemetery  in  1804.  Bron- 
gniart,  who  was  employed  to  lay  out  the  ground  for  its  new 
destination,  spared  the  avenues  of  limes  which  led  to  the 
terrace  of  the  old  gardens,  and  the  avenue  of  chestnuts  at 
the  top  of  the  hill.  The  chapel  occupies  the  site  of  the  old 
château,  and  its  orangery  still  exists,  used  as  a  dwelling  for 
the  guardians. 

Conducteurs  are  to  be  found  in  the  small  building  at  the 
entrance,  and  will  be  useful  to  those  who  wish  to  find  any 
especial  graves  in  this  vast  labyrinth. 

On  entering  the  cemetery,  the  pagan  character  of  the 


240  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

monuments  will  strike  every  one.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  find  any  particular  tomb,  and,  except  in  cases  of  per- 
sonal interest,  no  visitor  need  waste  his  time  in  trying. 
All  the  tombs  are  hideous,  all  have  exactly  the  same 
characteristics,  and  the  chief  of  these  is  weight.  It  is  as 
if  every  family  tried  to  pile  as  much  stone,  granite,  or  mar- 
ble as  possible  upon  their  lost  relatives.  A  few  of  the 
monuments  are  pyramids  and  columns  ;  but  the  favorite 
design  is  a  heavy  little  chapel  with  a  gabled  front,  usually 
surmounted  by  a  cross.  Each  bears  the  name  of  its  owners, 
*' Famille  Henri,"  "Famille  Cuchelet,"  &c.  Through  the 
grating,  or  a  glazed  cross  in  the  door,  you  may  see  inside 
a  little  altar  with  a  crucifix  and  vases  of  artificial,  or  occa- 
sionally fresh,  flowers,  and  sometimes  a  stained  window  at 
the  back.  There  is  often  room  for  a  prie-dieu  or  two  chairs 
for  the  relations  in  the  tiny  space,  and  the  steps  of  the 
altar  are  piled  with  wreaths,  sometimes  real,  but  generally 
of  flowers  made  of  black,  white  and  grey  beads.  Often, 
too,  these  wreaths  are  exhibited  outside  the  tombs,  or 
sometimes  an  immense  Pensée  in  a  round  glass.  If  real 
flowers  are  planted  on  a  humbler  grave,  it  is  a  pleasant 
variety. 

"Père  Lachaise — well  and  good!  To  be  buried  at  Père 
Lachaise  is  like  having  mahogany  furniture — a  mark  of  re- 
spectability !  " —  Victor  Hugo. 

The  poor,  who  are  buried  gratuitously,  are  laid  in  Fosses 
Commu?ies,  containing  forty  or  fifty  coffins  each  ;  but  these 
now  only  exist  in  the  cemeteries  outside  the  city,  at  St. 
Ouen  and  Ivry.  150  fr.  are  paid  for  a  concession  temporaire^ 
that  the  grave  shall  be  undisturbed  for  ten  years  ;  500  fr. 
for  a  concession  à  perpétuité.  The  spaces  allowed  for  this 
sum  are  only  22^  square  feet. 

Following  the  main  avenue  till  it  is  divided  by  flower- 


PÈRE   LA  Cil  A I  SE  241 

beds,  the  path  on  the  right  passes  the  tomb  of  the  astrono- 
mer Arago,  member  of  the  provisional  government,  1848  ; 
on  the  left  are  those  of  Visconti,  architect  of  the  new 
Louvre,  Rossini  the  mathematician,  Louis  Poinsot,  and 
Alfred  de  Musset,  engraved  with  a  verse  from  one  of  his 
poems.  Further  on  lies  Roederer,  one  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  July  Revolution,  and  opposite,  on  the  other  side  of  an 
avenue  of  limes.  Maréchal  Grouchy.  Ascending  to  the 
chapel  by  the  left  staircase,  we  pass  the  tombs  of  General 
Nègre  and  the  painter  David. 

Returning  towards  the  entrance  by  a  lime  avenue 
which  leaves  the  great  avenue  to  the  right,  we  see  the 
monuments  of  Auber,  Potier,  Beauvisage,  &c.  Turning  to 
the  left  beyond  the  guardian's  house,  we  reach  the  gate  of 
the  Jewish  Cemetery  (closed  on  Saturdays),  containing  the 
tombs  of  Mme  Rachel,  the  families  of  Rothschild  and 
Fould,  and  the  curious  monument  of  one  Jacob  Robles. 

To  the  left  of  the  Avenue  Casimir-Pe'rier,  which  makes 
a  great  curve  before  reaching  the  "  Rond  Point,"  are  tombs 
of  Bichat,  Mile  Mars,  Lesurques,  Pigault-Lebrun,  J.  Che'- 
nier,  Robertson  the  aeronaut,  &c. 

To  the  right  is  the  canopied  gothic  monument  which 
covers  the  remains  of  Abelard,  the  poet-philosopher,  who 
founded  a  doctrine  in  his  twenty-third  year,  and  Ht'loise, 
abbess  of  the  Paraclete,  heroine  of  the  most  famous  love- 
story  in  the  world. 

"  By  itself,  the  name  of  Abelard  would  have  been  known 
to-day  only  to  scholars  ;  united  with  that  of  Héloïse,  it  is  graven 
on  every  memory.  Paris  above  all,  'the  city  of  glory,  but  also 
the  city  of  forgetfulness,'  has  preserved  an  exceptional  and  un- 
alterable fidelity  to  the  memory  of  the  immortal  daughter  of  the 
Cité.  The  eighteenth  century  and  the  Revolution,  so  merciless  to 
the  middle  ages,  kept  alive  this  tradition  with  the  same  passion 
which  drove  them  to  efface  so  many  memories.     The  children  of 


242 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


Rousseau's  disciples  still  come  as  pilgrims  to  the  monument  of 
the  great  saint  of  Love,  and  every  spring  sees  pious  hands  renew 
the  crowns  of  flowers  on  the  tomb,  in  which  the  Revolution  re- 
united the  two  lovers. 

"  Abélard  died  at  the  priory  of  St.  Marcel  of  Chalons,  21st  of 
April,  1142.  His  last  wish  was  to  be  laid  at  the  Paraclete.  He 
thought,  at  least  when  dying,  of  her  who  had  never  had  a  thought 
but  for  him.  The  Church  herself  respected  the  mystic  bond  be- 
tween the  philosopher  and  the  great  abbess.  Peter  the  Venerable, 
who  wrote  an  epitaph  for  Abélard,  in  which  he  called  him  the 
Socrates  of  Gaul,  the  Plato  and  Aristotle  of  the  West,  sent  his 
mortal  remains  to  Héloïse.  '  The  Lord,'  he  wrote  to  the  Abbess  of* 
the  Paraclete,  with  a  vision  of  another  heaven  than  that  of  the 
ascetics,  '  the  Lord  preserve  him  for  you  to  restore  him  to  you  by 
his  grace.'  Héloïse  survived,  in  silence,  till  the  i6th  of  May, 
1 164.  Only  at  the  end  of  twenty-two  years  was  she  buried  near 
her  spouse." — Martin,  ^^  Hist,  de  France.'''' 

Part  of  the  monument  which  we  see  was  erected  in  1779 
at  the  Abbey  of  the  Paraclete,  and  was  removed  for  safety 
to  the  Musée  des  Petits- Augustins  during  the  Revolution. 
It  was  transported  to  Père  Lachaise  in  18 17.  The  canopy 
is  made  to  include  a  few  ancient  fragments  from  the  Abbey 
of  Nogent-sur-Seine,  but,  in  itself,  is  quite  modern.  It 
encloses  the  tomb  erected  by  Peter  the  Venerable  at  the 
Priory  of  St.  Marcel.  But  the  figure  of  Héloïse  is  really 
that  of  a  lady  of  the  Dormans  family,  plundered  from  their 
interesting  chapel  in  the  old  Collège  de  Beauvais.  How- 
ever, all  the  world  looks  upon  her  as  the  beloved  of  Abé- 
lard, long  severed  in  reality,  united  to  him  in  the  tomb. 
Perhaps  when  Dante  wrote  of  Francesca  di  Rimini  he  had 
in  his  mind  the  words  of  Abélard  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  : 
"  Nous  ouvrions  nos  livres,  mais  nous  avions  plus  de 
paroles  d'amour  que  de  lecture,  plus  de  baisers  que  de 
phrases." 

The  centre  of  the  Rond  Point  is  occupied  by  a  statue 
of  Casimir-Périer,  Prime   Minister  under  Louis  Philippe, 


PÈRE   LA  CHAI  SE  243 

1832.  On  the  left  are  a  number  of  tombs  of  musicians, 
including  Bellini,  Cherubini,  and  Chopin  ;  then,  behind 
these,  Brongniart  the  mineralogist,  Laharpe,  Delille,  Ber- 
nardin de  St.  Pierre,  Denon  of  Egyptian  reputation,  and, 
nearer  the  chapel.  Talma  and  Géricault.  In  the  south 
part  of  the  cemetery,  between  the  Rond  Point  and  the  en- 
closing wall,  are  the  chapel  of  General  Maison  ;  the  tomb 
of  Lebrun,  Duc  of  Piacenza  ;  the  monument  erected  by 
the  town  of  Paris  to  soldiers  killed  in  the  insurrection  of 
June,  1832  ;  that  of  Colonel  Labédoyère,  shot  at  the 
Restoration  for  having  proclaimed  Napoleon  on  his  return 
from  Elba  ;  and  many  others.  Amongst  the  tombs  on  the 
hill  behind  the  monument  of  Casimir-Pe'rier,  is  that  of  the 
families  Thiers  and  Dosne.  On  the  right  is  the  tomb  of 
General  Macdonald  and  that  of  Count  Lavalette,  with  a 
relief  representing  his  rescue  from  prison  by  the  devotion 
of  his  wife. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  avenue  are  the  tombs  of 
General  Gobert,  with  reliefs  by  David  d'Angers,  and  a 
group  of  Ney,  Massena,  Suchet,  and  other  soldiers  of  the 
empire. 

"The  cluster  of  glory  formed  by  the  union  of  all  the  great 
dignitaries  of  the  imperial  crown  on  the  same  eminence,  eclipses 
all  other  splendors  ;  the  magnificence  of  their  mausoleums  attests 
the  truth  of  the  remark  of  Napoleon,  which  the  people  and  the 
army  confirmed  :  '  I  have  made  my  marshals  too  rich.'  " — Etigene 
Rock. 

Here,  near  Massena,  in  "  le  quartier  des  mare'chaux," 
rests  Lefebvre,  who  said — 

"  Remember  that  if  I  die  in  Paris,  I  wish  to  be  buried  near 
Massena.  We  lived  together  in  camps  and  combats  ;  our  ashes 
ought  to  have  the  same  asylum." 

On  reaching  the  summit  of  the  hill,  the  tomb  of  Eugène 


244  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Scribe  is  amongst  those  on  the  left.  Returning  to  the 
Rond  Point  by  the  north  paths,  we  pass  the  tombs  of 
Beaumarchais  the  dramatist,  David  d'Angers  the  sculptor, 
De  Béranger,  Benjamin  Constant,  General  Foy  (by  David), 
Garnier-Pages,  the  two  Geoiïroy-Saint-Hilaire,  Racine,  the 
Princess  Demidoff,  Pradier,  of  Molière  and  Lafontaine — 
the  first  to  be  laid  in  Père  Lachaise — of  Laplace  the 
astronomer,  Lussac  the  great  chemist,  St.  Simon,  Mme  de 
Genlis,  Junot  (Due  d'Abrantès),  and  Ingres. 

"  There  is  a  testimony  to  the  Saint-Simonian  faith  on  a  tomb 
in  Père  Lachaise  ;  a  woman,  Marie  Simon,  died  in  that  faith, 
happy  if  this  sentence  of  their  creed  could  unveil  for  her  a  future 
life  and  console  her  for  her  death  :  '  God  is  all  that  is.  .  .  .  All  is 
in  him,  all  is  by  him,  nothing  is  without  him.'  Her  coreligionists, 
in  leaving  her,  uttered  as  their  last  words,  '  Hope  !  '  and  have  en- 
graved it  on  her  tomb." — Eugene  Rock. 

Where  the  Mahommedan  cemetery  opens,  are  tombs  of 
Condore  and  Amédee  Achard.  Returning  towards  the 
chapel,  amongst  a  crowd  of  minor  celebrities  we  find 
Nodier,  Casimir  Delavigne  the  poet,  Emile  Souvestre,  De 
Sèze  (the  heroic  advocate  who  defended  Louis  XVL),  and 
the  illustrious  Balzac.  Frederic  Soulié  and  Michelet  are 
buried  in  this  part  of  the  cemetery. 

If  the  Cemetery  of  Picpus  be  visited  on  leaving  Père 
Lachaise,  take  the  tramways,  turning  left  from  the  gate, 
to  the  Place  de  la  Nation. 

North  of  Père  Lachaise  is  Ménilmontant^  once  looked 
upon  as  a  tempting  place  of  residence. 

"The  Duke  de  Chaulnes  always  hoped  to  possess  Ménil- 
montant,  and  the  Duchess  always  opposed  him.  She  is  not  very 
reasonable,  sometimes,  your  fair  friend  ;  as  for  me,  I  sing  out 
loud  with  the  liberty  that  God  has  given  me,  in  despite  of  her 
black  looks.  It  is  the  duke  I  am  addressing. 
"  Achetez  le  Ménil-montant, 
C'est  le  repos  de  votre  vie  ; 


ST.    MARGUERITE  245 

Avez-vous  de  l'argent  comptant, 
Achetez  le  Ménil-montant, 
Madame  n'en  dit  pas  autant  ; 
Mais  satisfaites  votre  envie  ; 
Achetez  le  Ménil-montant, 
C'est  le  repos  de  votre  vie." 

M.  de  Coîilaiiges  à  Mme  de  Se'vigné,  1695. 

Turning  to  the  left  on  leaving  the  Père  Lachaise  by 
the  Avenue  de  Philippe- Auguste,  and  then  turning  to  the 
left  down  the  Rue  Charonne,  we  reach  the  Church  of  St. 
Marguerite,  of  the  XVII.  c.  and  XVIII.  c.  The  Chapelle 
des  Ames  du  Purgatoire  was  designed  by  Louis,  1765. 
Some  pictures  of  the  life  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  brought 
from  the  Lazaristes,  are  interesting  from  the  portraits  they 
contain.  A  Descent  from  the  Cross  was  sculptured  for 
the  destroyed  Church  of  St.  Landry,  in  La  Cite',  by  Le 
Lorrain  and  Nourrisson,  pupils  of  Girardon.  The  tomb  of 
Antoine  Fayet,  Curé  de  St.  Paul,  was  (^.  1737)  formerly 
buried  under  the  choir,  on  account  of  the  nudity  of  the 
figures  ! 

"The  nth  of  May,  1792,  the  city  saw  the  first  example  of  a 
Catholic  priest  being  married,  and  solemnly  avowing  the  act  in 
conformity  with  the  laws  of  the  primitive  church.  The  vicar  of  St. 
Marguerite  presented  himself  on  that  day  at  the  bar  of  the  legis- 
lative assembly  with  his  wife  and  father,  and  was  received  with 
applause.      He  had  many  imitators." — Dulaiire,  ''Hist,  de  Paris." 

The  Cimetière  de  St.  Marguerite  is  interesting  because 
Louis  XVII. ,  who  died  in  the  prison  of  the  Temple,  June 
^?  1795?  ag^d  ten  years  and  two  months,  was  buried  there, 
though  in  1815  his  uncle,  Louis  XVIIL,  vainly  searched 
there  for  his  remains. 

"The  Convention,  which  had  assured  Louis  XVI.,  just  before 
his  death,  that  the  French  people,  always  magnanimous,  would 
provide  for  his  family,  ordered,  as  the  first  proof  of  its  solicitude, 
that  Louis  should  be  separated  from  his  mother.     With  this  the 


246 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


martyrdom  of  the  royal  child  began.  The  Convention  placed 
him  in  the  hands  of  the  cobbler  Simon  and  his  wife,  whom  it 
described  by  the  titles  of  ttctor  and  governess.  This  was  one  of 
the  pleasantries  of  the  Revolution,  This  execrable  couple  proved 
worthy  of  the  confidence  of  the  nation  as  represented  by  the 
conventional  committees,  and  set  to  work  to  degrade  the  moral 
and  physical  faculties  of  the  son  of  Louis  XVI.  The  reader 
shudders  at  the  official  account  of  the  barbarous  and  infamous 
treatment  to  which  he  was  subject.  Not  content  with  making 
him  endure  hunger,  cold,  and  humiliation,  with  heaping  blows 
on  him,  depriving  him  of  air,  amusement,  and  exercise,  and 
leaving  him  in  the  most  painful  destitution,  Simon  took  pleas- 
ure in  making  him  drink  spirits,  and  in  teaching  him  obscene 
songs  and  stories.  But  his  barbarity  was  an  antidote  to  his  im- 
morality. The  young  prince  gave  many  proofs  of  an  elevation 
of  feeling  and  ideas,  astonishing  for  his  age,  of  which  the  per- 
versity of  his  keeper  had  not  been  able  to  destroy  the  germ.  Si- 
mon having  asked  him  what  he  would  do  if  the  Vendeans  deliv- 
vered  him,  he  replied  : 

"  '  I  would  pardon  you  !  ' 

"  Marasmus  was  the  natural  result  of  the  filth  and  continual 
suffering  in  which  the  prince  lived.  For  more  than  a  year  he 
was  deprived  of  linen,  and  without  the  most  indispensable  atten- 
tions. The  length  of  time  he  resisted  proves  how  strong  his  con- 
stitution was.  .  .  .  The  Convention,  which  could  cut  off  the 
heads  of  kings,  did  not  know  how  their  children  are  brought  up, 
and  therefore  inflicted  on  these  children  an  agony  of  years.  We 
do  not  fear  to  say  that  the  slow  and  obscure  death  of  the  young 
Louis  XVn.  is  a  more  horrible  stain  on  France  than  the  bloody, 
open  death  of  the  virtuous  Louis  XVL" — Balzac,  ''  Six  rois  de 
France.''^ 

From  the  Place  de  la  Bastille,  the  Rue  du  Faubourg 
St.  Antoine  leads  east  to  the  Place  du  Trône,  commemo- 
rating in  its  name  the  throne  placed  here,  upon  which  Louis 
XIV.  was  seated  when  he  received  the  homage  of  all  the 
different  officials  of  Paris,  upon  his  triumphant  entry  with 
Marie  Thérèse.  On  this  spot  1,300  victims  of  the  Reign 
of  Terror  died  by  the  guillotine. 

"More  than  eight  thousand  'suspects'  filled  the  prisons  of 


PLACE   DU    TRÔNE  247 

Paris.  In  one  single  night  there  was  flung  into  them  three  hun- 
dred families  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain,  all  the  great  names 
of  France  in  history,  in  arms,  in  parliament,  and  in  the  epis- 
copacy. There  was  no  embarrassment  about  inventing  a  crime  ; 
their  names  were  sufficient,  their  wealth  denounced  them,  their 
rank  surrended  them.  The  quarter  they  lived  in,  their  rank,  fort- 
une, parentage,  family,  religion,  opinions,  or  their  presumed  sen- 
timents made  them  guilty,  or  rather  there  was  no  longer  innocent 
and  guilty,  but  proscribers  and  proscribed.  Neither  age,  nor 
sex,  nor  advanced  years,  nor  infancy,  nor  infirmity,  which  ren- 
dered all  criminality  physically  impossible,  could  save  from  ac- 
cusation and  condemnation.  Paralytic  old  men  followed  their 
sons,  children  followed  their  fathers,  wives  their  husbands,  and 
daughters  their  mothers.  One  died  for  his  name,  another  for 
his  fortune,  this  one  for  having  uttered  an  opinion,  that  one  for 
silence  ;  this  one  for  having  served  royalty,  that  one  for  having 
ostentatiously  embraced  the  republic  ;  one  for  not  having  adored 
Marat,  another  for  having  regretted  the  Girondins  *  one  for  hav- 
ing applauded  the  excesses  of  Hébert,  another  for  smiling  at  the 
clemency  of  Danton  ;  one  for  having  emigrated,  one  for  having 
stayed  at  home  ;  one  for  having  starved  the  people  by  not  spend- 
ing his  income,  and  another  for  having  adopted  a  luxury  insult- 
ing to  the  public  misery.  Reasons,  suspicions,  contradictory 
pretexts,  all  were  good.  It  was  enough  to  find  informers  in  the 
section,  and  the  law  encouraged  them  by  giving  them  a  share  in 
the  confiscations. 

"  The  funeral  cars  often  gathered  together  husband  and  wife, 
father  and  son,  mother  and  daughters.  These  tearful  faces  that 
gazed  on  each  other  with  the  supreme  tenderness  of  a  last  look, 
these  heads  of  young  girls  resting  on  the  knees  of  their  mothers  ; 
these  brows  of  wives,  falling  as  if  to  find  strength  there,  on  the 
shoulders  of  their  husbands  ;  these  hearts  pressed  to  other  hearts 
about  to  stop  beating  ;  these  white  hairs,  these  fair  hairs,  cut  by 
the  same  scissors  ;  these  venerable  heads,  these  charming  heads, 
mowed  down  by  the  same  blade,  the  slow  march  of  the  proces- 
sion, the  monotonous  noise  of  the  wheels,  the  sabres  of  the  gen- 
darmes forming  a  hedge  of  steel  around  the  cars,  the  suppressed 
sobs,  the  howls  of  the  populace,  this  cold,  periodic  vengeance, 
which  was  kindled  and  extinguished  at  a  fixed  hour  in  the  streets 
through  which  the  procession  passed,  gave  to  these  immolations 
something  worse  than  mere  murder,  for  it  was  murder  presented 
as  a  spectacle  and  a  pleasure  to  a  whole  people. 


248  IVALJ^S  IN  F  A  m  S 

"  So  perished,  decimated  in  their  flower,  all  classes  of  the 
population,  the  nobility,  the  church,  the  citizens,  the  magistrac}-, 
the  commercial  classes,  even  the  people  themselves  ;  so  perished 
all  the  great  and  obscure  citizens  who  represented  in  France  the 
ranks,  professions,  light,  offices,  wealth,  industries,  opinions,  or 
sentiments  proscribed  by  the  sanguinary  regeneration  of  the  Ter- 
ror. Thus  fell,  one  by  one,  four  thousand  heads  in  a  few  months, 
among  them  bearers  of  the  names  of  Montmorency,  Noailles,  La 
Rochefoucauld,  Mailly,  Mouchy,  Lavoisier,  Nicolai,  Sombreuil, 
Brancas,  Broglie,  Boisgelin,  Beauvilliers,  Maillé,  Montalembert, 
Roquelaure,  Roucher,  Chénier,  Grammont,  Duchatelet,  Cler- 
mont-Tonnerre,  Thiard,  Moncrif,  Molé-Champlatreux.  Democ- 
racy made  room  for  herself  by  the  sword,  but  in  so  doing  did 
horror  to  humanity." — La?nartine,  "  Hist,  des  Girondins." 

The  first  side  street  on  the  left  of  the  Faubourg  St. 
Antoine  returning  citywards  from  the  Place  du  Trône,  is 
the  Rue  de  -J^icpus,  where  the  Bernardin-Bénédictin  Con- 
vent was  situated,  of  which  Victor  Hugo  has  so  much  to 
tell  us. 

"The  part  of  Paris  where  Jean  Valjean  now  was,  situated 
between  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  and  la  Râpée,  was  one  of 
those  which  have  been  utterly  transformed  by  those  recent  works, 
which  some  call  disfigurements,  others  beautifying.  The  fields, 
the  timber-yards,  and  old  buildings  have  been  removed,  and 
there  are  now  bran-new  wide  streets,  arenas,  circuses,  hippo- 
dromes, railway  stations,  and  a  prison,  Mazas — progress  as  we 
see  with  its  corrective.  Half  a  century  back,  in  that  popular 
language  all  made  up  of  traditions  which  insists  on  calling  the 
Institute  '  les  Quatre  Nations,'  and  the  Opera  Comique  '  Feydeau,' 
the  precise  spot  where  Jean  Valjean  now  stood  was  called  *  le 
Petit  Picpus.'  The  Porte  St.  Jacques,  the  Porte  Paris,  the  Bar- 
rière des  Sergents,  the  Porcherons,  the  Galiote,  the  Célestins,  the 
Capucins,  the  Mail,  the  Bourbe,  the  tree  of  Cracow,  little  Poland, 
and  little  Picpus,  are  names  of  old  Paris,  swimming  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  new.  The  memory  of  the  people  floats  on  the  flotsam 
of  the  past. 

"The  convent  of  the  Petit  Picpus  St.  Antoine  filled  almost 
entirely  the  vast  trapeze  formed  by  the  intersections  of  the  Rue 
Polonceau,  the  Rue  Droit-Mur,  the  Little  Rue  Picpus,  and  the 
lane,  named  in  old  plans,  Rue  Aumarais.     These   four  streets 


CIMEriïiRK   DE   PICPUS  249 

surrounded  the  trapeze  as  a  moat  would  have  donc.  This  holy 
house  was  built  on  the  very  site  of  a  tennis  court  of  the  four- 
teenth or  sixteenth  century,  called  le  tripot  des  onze  mille  diables. 
AU  these  streets,  moreover,  were  among  the  oldest  in  Paris.  The 
names  Droit-Mur  and  Aumarais  are  very  old,  the  streets  so  called 
still  older.  The  lane  Aumarais  was  called  the  lane  Maugout, 
and  the  Rue  Droit-Mur  the  Rue  des  Eglantiers,  for  God  opened 
the  flowers  before  man  cut  stone." — "  Les  Misérables^ 

At  No.  35  Rue  de  Picpus  is  a  Convent  of  the  Sacré 
Cœur.  Visitors  are  admitted  by  the  porter  and  taken 
through  the  long  convent  garden  to  visit  the  closed  but 
most  interesting  Cimeticre  de  Picpus.  Here  only  the  repre- 
sentatives of  those  noble  families  whose  ancestors  perished 
on  the  guillotine  have  been  laid  ;  and  there  ace  long  lines 
of  tombs  of  the  De  Larochefoucauld,  De  Noailles,  De 
Clermont-Tonnerre,  De  Rochefort,  De  la  Mothe,  De 
Boiselin,  De  Montboissier,  De  Talleyrand,  &c.  At  the 
end  are  the  tombs  of  General  Lafayette  and  his  wife. 
Here,  through  a  grated  door,  you  look  upon  the  green  en- 
closure of  a  little  second  cemetery,  planted  with  cypresses, 
belonging  to  the  German  Prince  of  Salm  Kyrbourg,  whose 
ancestor  was  the  last  victim  of  the  guillotine.  Around 
his  tomb  lie  no  less  than  1,306  of  his  fellow-sufferers— "  les 
victimes  "—the  flower  of  the  French  aristocracy.  Close 
to  the  entrance  of  the  outer  enclosure,  near  the  tomb  of  a 
bishop  who  was  founder  of  the  "  Sainte  Enfance,"  and  of 
the  foundress  of  the  adjoining  convent,  is  the  tomb  of 
Charles,  Comte  de  Montalembert,  1870. 

•'  He  was  buried,  by  his  own  desire,  not  among  the  gaudy 
flowers  and  wreaths  of  an  ordinary  Parisian  cemetery,  but  in  the 
hallowed  ground  at  the  Picpus  convent,  where  lie  the  victims  of 
the  Revolution,  and  where  only  thor  e  who  are  descended  from 
those  victims,  or  connected  with  them,  can  lie.  Count  de 
Montalembert  had  this  privilege  by  right  of  his  wife,  and  of  the 
noble  and  saintly  ladies  guillotined  under  the  Terror,  from  whom 


250  WALJ^S  IN  PARIS 

she  was  descended.  He  chose  his  last  rest  there  by  the  side  of 
the  unfortunate,  by  those  who  had  perished  either  for  the  sake  of 
religion,  or  for  their  honorable  adherence  to  a  fallen  cause  ;  as 
became  one  who  never  loved  victorious  causes,  and  who  fought 
most  of  his  life  on  the  losing  side,  after  the  fashion  of  the  earth's 
best  and  purest  heroes." — Mrs.  Oliphant. 

On  the  left  of  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  (No. 
184)  is  the  Hôpital  St  A?itoine,  occupying  the  buildings  of 
the  famous  Abbaye  de  St.  Antoine,  founded  in  1198  by 
Foulques,  Curé  de  Neuilly,  the  preacher  of  the  fourth 
crusade.  The  buildings  were  reconstructed  by  Lenoir  in 
1770,  except  the  glorious  gothic  church  (built  by  Blanche 
of  Castille  as  a  thank-offering  for  the  birth  of  St.  Louis, 
and  containing  the  tombs  of  Jeanne  and  Bonne  de  France, 
daughters  of  Charles  V.),  which  was  utterly  destroyed  at 
the  Revolution. 

In  the  Rue  de  Charenton,  the  next  parallel  street  south, 
the  old  Hotel  des  Mousquetah-es  Noirs  is  now  occupied  by 
the  Hospice  des  Quinze  Vingts^  founded  by  St.  Louis  in  1260, 
and  removed  hither  by  Cardinal  de  Rohan  from  the  Rue 
St.  Honoré.  The  Rue  de  Charenton,  under  its  former  name 
of  Rue  de  la  Planchette,  was  notorious  for  the  unpunished 
massacre  (Sept.  28,  1621)  of  several  hundred  protestants, 
coming  out  of  a  church  which  they  had  built  in  the  street. 
No.  I  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  at  the  corner  of  the  Place  de 
la  Bastille,  was  inhabited  by  Pépin,  executed  as  an  accom- 
plice of  Fieschi  against  the  life  of  Louis  Philippe,  1835. 

On  the  Boulevard  Mazas  is  the  Prison  of  Mazas,  where 
prisoners  are  placed  in  solitary  confinement  immediately 
upon  their  arrest,  when  the  cases  are  not  likely  to  be  of 
long  detention. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  ISLANDS  IN  THE  SEINE, 

THE  principal  island  in  the  Seine,  which  in  early  times 
bore  the  name  of  Lutèce,  was  the  cradle  of  Paris. 
Caesar,  who  is  the  first  to  speak  of  it,  calls  it  Lutecia. 
Strabo  wrote  Lucotocia  ;  Ptolemy,  Lucotecia  ;  the  Emperor 
Julian,  who  resided  long  in  the  ancient  city,  wrote  of  it 
as  Louchetia,  the  different  denominations  probably  all 
originating  in  the  whiteness  of  the  plaster  used  in  its 
buildings. 

Paris  began  to  spread  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Lutèce 
from  Roman  times  onwards.  The  rays  emerging  from  this 
centre  have  absorbed  all  the  villages  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  for  many  miles  in  every  direction  all  is  now  one  vast 
and  crowded  city.  But  the  island,  where  the  first  palaces 
were  grouped  around  the  fishermen's  huts,  has  ever  been  as 
it  were  the  axis  of  the  kingdom,  the  point  whence  the  laws 
were  disseminated,  and  where  the  metropolitan  cathedral 
has  existed  for  fifteen  centuries.  In  early  times  two  islets 
broke  the  force  of  the  river  beyond  the  point  of  the  He  de 
la  Cité.  These  were  the  He  de  la  Gourdaine,  or  du 
Passeur  aux  Vaches,  and  the  Ile  aux  Javiaux,  or  Ile  aux 
Treilles.  Upon  the  latter,  which  was  then  opposite  the 
end  of  the  royal  gardens  (March  ii,  1314)»  Jacques  de 
Molay,  grand  master  of  the  Templars,  and  Guy,  Dauphin 


252 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


d'Auvergne,  prieure  de  Normandie,  were  burnt  alive  après 
salut  et  complies,  i.e.,  at  5  p.m.  The  Templars  had  been 
arrested  all  over  France,  Oct.  13,  1307,  but  it  was  only  on 
May  12,  13 10,  after  three  years'  imprisonment,  that  fifty- 
four  were  burnt  at  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  and  four  years 
more  elapsed  before  their  chiefs  suffered,  after  protesting 
before  Notre  Dame  the  innocence  of  their  order  and  the 
falsehood  of  the  accusations  which  had  been  made  against 
it.  Even  to  present  times  Templars  dressed  in  mourning 
may  be  seen  making  a  pilgrimage,  on  March  11,  to  the 
scene  of  their  chieftain's  martyrdom. 

The  two  islets  were  artificially  united  to  the  He  de  la 
Cité,  when  Androuet  du  Cerceau  was  employed  to  build 
the  Pont-Neuf  in  the  reign  of  Henri  III.  The  king  laid 
the  first  stone  on  the  very  day  on  which  his  favorite  Quelus 
died  of  the  wounds  he  received  in  the  famous  Combat  des 
Mignons,  for  which  Henri  was  in  such  grief  during  the 
ceremony  that  it  was  said  that  the  new  bridge  ought  to  be 
called  le  Po?it  des  Fleurs.  Owing  to  the  emptiness  of  the 
treasury,  a  very  long  time  elapsed  before  the  side  of  the 
bridge  nearest  the  right  bank  was  completed,  and  great  was 
the  lamentation  over  this  delay  amongst  those  who  were 
proud  of  the  beauties  of  the  capital.  "  La  fortune,"  says 
Montaigne,  "  m'a  fait  grand  desplaisir  d'interrompre  la  belle 
structure  du  Pont-Neuf  de  nostre  grande  ville,  et  m'oster 
l'espoir  avant  mourir  d'en  veoir  en  train  de  service."  In 
1604  the  Pont-Neuf  was  finished  by  Guillaume  Marchand 
for  Henri  IV.  :  but  up  to  his  time  the  piles  for  the  wider 
branch  of  the  bridge  only  reached  to  the  level  of  the  water. 
Of  late  years,  the  noble  and  beautiful  proportions  of  the 
bridge  have  been  considerably  injured  by  the  lowering  of 
the  platform,  and  new  arches  being  constructed  at  a  lower 
level  than  the  old  ones.     Still  the  bridge,  with  its  twelve 


LE  PONT-NEUF  253 

round-headed  arches  and  massive  cornice,  is  most  pictur- 
esque, and  with  the  varied  outline  of  tall  houses  and  the 
grey  cathedral  behir  d  it,  and  the  feathery  green  of  its  island 
trees  glittering  against  the  purple  shadows  in  the  more 
distant  windings  of  the  river,  it  still  forms  the  most  beauti- 
ful scene  in  the  capital.  So  central  an  artery  is  the  Pont- 
Neuf,  that  it  used  to  be  a  saying  with  the  Parisian  police, 
that  if,  after  watching  three  days,  they  did  not  see  a  man 
cross  the  bridge,  he  must  have  left  Paris.  In  the  XVI.  c. 
the  Pont-Neuf  was  so  much  the  resort  of  news-venders 
and  jugglers,  that  any  popular  witticism  was  described  as 
"a  Pont-Neuf."  On  the  piers  were  shops  for  children's 
toys,  and  on  Jan.  15  "la foire  aux  jouets  "  was  held  on  the 
Pont-Neuf. 

"  In  truth,  this  bridge,  so  celebrated  in  song  and  romance, 
which  the  vaudevilles  have  so  much  abused,  and  which  boat- 
men, dog-sellers,  and  poets  have  haunted,  which  L'Etoile  calls 
marvellous,  which  Ronsard  sang  and  Germain  Pilon  decorated,  it 
is  said,  with  his  charming  sculpture,  is  worthy  of  all  our  attention 
and  all  our  respect." — Adolphe  Joanne. 

Henri  was  not  satisfied  with  completing  the  bridge 
itself;  as  soon  as  it  was  finished,  he  began  to  build  the 
Place  Dauphine  where  the  bridge  crossed  the  end  of  the 
island,  and  employed  the  Flemish  Lintlaër  to  construct  a 
pump  on  one  of  the  piers  of  the  bridge,  with  machinery  to 
supply  the  Tuileries  and  Louvre  with  the  water  in  which 
they  had  been  hitherto  deficient.  "  L'eau  de  la  pompe  du 
Pont-Neuf  est  aux  Tuileries,"  Malherbe  wrote  in  triumph 
on  Oct.  3,  1608.  The  little  Château  d'Eau,  in  which  the 
machine  was  contained,  was  quite  a  feature  in  the  river 
views,  and  on  its  façade  toward  the  bridge  it  bore  a  sculpt- 
ured group  called  la  Samaritaine  (of  Jesus  receiving  water 
from  the  woman  of  Samaria  at  Jacob's  well),  with  a  chim- 
ing clock  which  had  great  popularity — "  a  very  rare  dyall 


254 


IVALKS  IN  PARIS 


of  several  motions,"  as  John  Evelyn  calls  it.  The  Samari- 
taine was  remade  in  17 15,  the  figure  of  Christ  being  by 
Philippe  Bertrand,  that  of  the  woman  by  Rene'  Fre'min. 
They  were  spoilt  by  being  gilt  in  1776,  when  little  pavil- 
ions were  erected  upon  all  the  piers  of  the  bridge.  The 
group  perished  in  July,  1792,  when  the  statues  of  the  kings 
were  destroyed — "  il  rappelait  trop  l'Evangile  !  " 

After  the  bridge  was  finished,  when  Henri  IV.  was  at 
the  height  of  his  popularity,  it  was  decided  to  erect  his 
statue  on  the  central  platform  which  was  formed  by  the 
islets  recently  united  to  the  mainland.     Franqueville,  first 


LE   PONT-NEUF. 


sculptor  to  the  king,  was  employed  to  make  a  model  to  be 
sent  to  Florence  for  casting  by  John  of  Bologna  ;  but  when 
the  great  sculptor  received  the  model  he  began  by  the 
horse,  and  died  in  1608  before  he  had  proceeded  farther. 
Pietro  Tacca,  his  favorite  pupil,  took  up  his  work,  but  had 
finished  nothing  when  Henri  IV.  was  assassinated  two 
years  later,  and  though  pressed  hard  by  the  Grand  Duke 
(cousin  of  Marie  de  Medicis),  who  gave  30,000  crowns  "de 
ses  deniers  propres"  for  the  work,  man  and  horse  were 


STATUE    OF  ITEMRT  IV.  255 

only  completed  in  16 13.  Then  le  colosse  du  grand  roy 
Henri,  as  it  was  called  at  the  time,  was  brought  by  sea 
from  Leghorn  to  Havre,  and  thence  by  the  Seine  to  Paris, 
where  it  was  raised  to  a  temporary  pedestal  on  August  23. 
The  widowed  queen  was  enchanted  with  the  resemblance, 
"degna  veramente  di  quello  che  rappresenta,"  as  she 
gratefully  wrote  to  Tacca,  and  the  late  king's  subjects 
were  of  the  same  opinion.  "La  figure  est  une  des  plus 
ressemblantes  que  nous  ayons  d'Henri  IV.,"  records 
Sauvai,  who  had  conversed  with  the  king's  contemporaries. 
The  horse,  however,  was  less  admired,  being  thought  too 
heavy  for  its  rider  and  its  legs  too  short.  It  was  not  till 
1635  that  the  whole  was  placed  on  a  magnificent  pedestal 
guarded  at  the  corners  by  four  chained  slaves,  designed  by 
the  Florentine  Luigi  Civoli,  and  finished  by  his  son-in-law, 
Bordoni.  The  blame  of  the  long  delay  in  completing  the 
work  was  laid  upon  the  Italian  minister  Concino  Concini, 
with  the  result  that  after  his  murder,  when  the  people  ex- 
humed his  body  after  his  hasty  burial  at  St.  Germain 
I'Auxerrois,  they  dragged  it  through  the  mud  to  the  Pont- 
Neuf,  and  hacked  it  to  pieces  at  the  foot  of  the  statue 
which  he  had  neglected.  Here  a  cannibal  roasted  the 
heart  of  Concini  and  ate  it  up,  the  rest  of  the  body  being 
distributed  to  the  people  in  morsels. 

The  feeling  about  Henri  IV.  was  such  that,  from  the 
death  of  the  Grand  Dauphin,  the  people  used  to  carry 
their  petitions  of  complaint  to  the  foot  of  the  king's 
statue,  and  leave  them  there.  In  1789  the  people  forced 
those  who  passed  in  carriages  to  descend  and  kneel  before 
Henri  IV.  :  this  genuflection  was  inflicted  on  the  Duke  of 
Orleans. 

"  Tlie  statue  of  the  good  King  Henr)^  IV.,  although  isolated, 
is  much  more  interesting  than  all  the  other  royal  statues.     The 


256 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


figure  has  an  honest,  winning  face,  and  this  it  is  which  is  regarded 
with  tenderness  and  veneration." — Tableau  de  Paris. 

"  The  statue  is  inclos'd  with  a  strong  and  beautifull  grate  of 
yron,  about  which  there  are  allways  mountebancs  shewing  their 
feates  to  idle  passengers."— yi^/zw  Evelyn. 

At  the  foot  of  the  statue,  Cardinal  de  Retz,  in  his 
pontifical  robes,  met  the  people  in  the  revolution  of  1648 
("la  journe'e  des  barricades")  and  persuaded  them  to  re- 
tire peaceably.  But  the  great  Revolution  of  1792  melted 
down  horse  and  rider  alike,  to  make  cannon.  The  exist- 
ing statue,  by  Lemot,  only  dates  from  the  Restoration  in 
18 1 8,  and  is  made  from  the  bronze  of  the  destroyed  statues 
of  Napoleon  in  the  Place  Vendôme  and  at  Boulogne-sur- 
mer,  together  with  that  of  General  Desaix,  which  stood  in 
the  Place  des  Victoires.  One  of  the  inscriptions  on  the 
pedestal  is  a  copy  of  that  belonging  to  the  original  statue. 
The  reliefs  represent  Henri  IV.  entering  Paris,  and  his 
passing  bread  over  the  walls  to  the  besieged  citizens. 

"  N'en  doutez  pas  ;  l'aspect  de  cette  image  auguste 
Rendra  nos  maux  moins  grands,  notre  bonheur  plus  doux, 
O  Français  !  louez  Dieu  ;  vous  voyez  un  roi  juste, 

Un  Français  de  plus  parmi  vous." — Victor  Hugo. 

The  Corps  de  Garde  near  the  statue  is  that  where  the 
poet  Gilbert,  "dying  of  genius  and  hunger,"  used  to  seek 
a  refuge  and  share  the  food  of  the  soldiers.  The  proverb 
"  Solide  comme  le  Pont-Neuf  "  was  set  at  nought  in  De- 
cember, 1885,  by  the  sudden  subsidence  of  the  smaller  end 
of  the  bridge,  connecting  the  island  with  the  south  bank  of 
the  Seine. 

Very  striking  is  the  view  from  the  bridge  near  the 
statue  : 

"On  the  west  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  green  hills  of 
Saint  Cloud  and  Meudon,  and  in  this  direction  the  Tuileries  and 
the  Louvre  display  their  majestic  mass.     The   Pont  des  Arts,  a 


VIE  IV s  FROM    THE   PONT-NEUF 


257 


light  and  graceful  construction,  divides  admirably  the  foreground 
of  the  picture,  while  the   river,  filled  with  vessels  of  all   forms, 

gives  to  it  the  activity  of  life Behind  you   is  Paris  in  its 

3'outh  and  its  virility,  the  great  city,  the  queen  of  the  Isle  of 
France,  adorned  with  all  the  ornaments  of  her  royalty,  but  to  the 
east,  before  you,  is  the  old  Paris  of  Hugues  Capet  and  of  Marcel, 
the  Provost  of  the  Merchants  ;  there  all  the  recollections  of  the 
nation's  history  are  unfolded  in  monuments  of  another  age  black- 
ened by  time.  The  Isle  of  St.  Louis,  which,  in  the  background 
of  the  view,  occupies  almost  the  centre  of  the  stream,  is  peopled 
with  tall  edifices,  the  effect  of  which  is  extraordinary,  especially 
at  this  hour  when  the  pale  and  distant  gleam  of  the  lamps  throws 
on  it  a  doubtful  light.  Still  on  the  same  line,  but  inclining  more 
towards  the  left  bank  of  the  stream,  we  discover  the  gothic  towers 
of  Notre  Dame,  whose  summit,  surrounded  with  the  gaseous 
vapors  that  rise  from  Paris,  seems  to  lose  itself  in  the  bosom  of 
the  clouds.  The  island,  where  this  monument  is  placed,  is  the 
beloved  Lutecia  of  Julian,  and  it  is  allowed  to  retain  the  name  of 
Cité  which  recalls  its  right  of  seniorit)\  There  is  not  one  of  these 
streets,  so  dark  and  tortuous,  that  does  not  recall  events  told  in 
our  old  chronicles.  Then,  in  the  nearer  distance,  you  see  what 
remains  of  the  old  Palace  bequeathed  by  the  kings  of  France  to 
Justice." — A.  Bariquet. 

"The  Conciergerie,  the  Palace,  the  Cité,  form  the  old  centre 
of  Lutecia,  the  heart  of  Paris.  Hence  started  all  these  houses 
which  have  enlarged  the  cit}^  and  propagated  it  into  the  distance  ; 
here  were  the  loves  of  Julian  ;  from  this  centre  the  rays  diverged 
which  have  swallowed  up  whole  villages  in  their  progress.  And 
in  this  old  prison,  what  tears  have  been  shed  since  the  day  when 
some  boatmen  occupied  the  island,  around  which  so  many  pal- 
aces are  now  grouped.  In  this  dungeon,  with  which  the  whole 
life  of  the  queen  city  is  connected,  what  human  sorrows  have  not 
centred  !  As  soon  as  the  city  is  planned,  the  jail  opens  ;  the 
first  germ  and  the  pivot  of  a  great  city  is  a  prison." — Paris,  ou  le 
livre  des  cent-et-tm, 

The  point  of  the  island,  of  the  original  He  de  Treilles, 
behind  the  statue  of  Henri  IV.,  is  one  of  those  bright 
spots  of  green  which  leave  an  unrecognized  impression 
upon  the  summer  visitor  to  Paris. 

"  The  western  point  of  the  island,  that  ship's  prow  continu- 


258  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

ally  at  anchor,  which,  in  the  flow  of  two  currents,  looks  at  Paris, 

Avithout   ever  reaching  it A  lonely  strand,   planted  with 

fjreat  trees,  a  delicious  retreat  ;  an  asylum   in  the   midst  of  the 
crowd." — Zola,  ''  L'Œtcvre." 

The  Place  Dauphifie,  which  Henri  IV.  surrounded  by 
Ihe  brick  and  stone  houses  characteristic  of  his  time,  oc- 
cupies, with  the  Rue  de  Harlay,  the  site  of  the  royal  gar- 
den where  St.  Louis  administered  justice. 

"Je  le  vis  aucune  fois  en  été,  que  pour  délivrer  [expédier]  sa 
j^cnt  [son  peuple]  il  venoit  ou  jardin  de  Paris,  une  cote  de  came- 
lot vestue,  un  surcot  de  tyreteinne  sans  manche,  un  mantel  de 
ceudal  noir  entour  son  col,  moult  bien  pigné,  et  sans  coife,  et  un 
chapel  de  paon  blanc  sur  la  teste,  et  faisoit  estendre  tapis  pour 
nous  seoir  entour  li,  et  tout  le  peuple  qui  avoit  à  faire  par  devant 
H,  estoit  entour,  et  lors  il  les  faisoit  délivrer  en  la  manière,  que 
je  vous  ai  dit  devant,  du  bois  de  Vincennes." — Joinville. 

Very  few  of  the  old  houses  now  remain,  and  though 
those  at  the  entrance  retain  their  high  roofs  and  overhang- 
ing cornices,  their  brick  fronts  are  painted  white. 

Till  late  years,  a  monument  to  General  Desaix  in  the 
Place  Dauphine  bore  his  last  words — ^'  Allez  dire  au  pre- 
mier consul  que  je  meurs  avec  le  regret  de  n'avoir  pas 
assez  fait  pour  la  France  et  la  postérité." 

It  was  here,  in  the  last  days  of  the  garden,  that  Jean 
Robin,  arboriste  et  si7Tipliciste  du  roy,  cultivated  the  first 
acacia,  or  robinier,  a  tree  which  has  since  spread  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  France. 

Let  us  now  explore  the  island. 

"What  Parisian,  foreigner  or  provincial,  who,  although  he 
has  remained  only  two  or  three  days  in  Paris,  has  not  remarked 
the  black  walls  flanked  by  three  large  towers  with  pepper-box 
roofs,  two  of  which  are  almost  coupled,  that  form  the  sombre  and 
mysterious  ornament  of  the  Ouai  des  Lunettes  ?  This  quay  be- 
gins at  the  bottom  of  the  Pont  du  Change,  and  extends  to  the 
Pont  Neuf.     A   square  tower,    called  la  tour  de  VHorloge,  from 


VILE   DE   LA    CITE  259 

which  the  signal  for  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  was  given, 
a  tower  as  high  as  that  of  St.  Jacques  la  Boucherie,  indicates  the 
palace  and  forms  the  corner  of  the  quay.  These  four  towers 
and  these  walls  are  clothed  with  that  blackish  shroud  which  all 
fronts  facing  the  north  assume  at  Paris.  Toward  the  middle  of 
the  quay,  at  a  deserted  arcade,  begin  the  private  constructions 
which  were  made  in  the  reign  of  Henri  IV.  on  account  of  the 
opening  of  the  Pont  Neuf.  The  Place  Royale  was  a  replica  of 
the  Place  Dauphine  ;  and  displays  the  same  system  of  architect- 
ure of  brick  framed  with  cut  stone.  This  arcade  and  the  Rue  de 
Harlay  mark  the  limits  of  the  Palace  to  the  west.  Formerly  the 
Prefecture  of  Police  and  the  hotel  of  the  first  presidents  of  the 
Parliament,  were  dependencies  of  the  Palace.  The  Cour  des 
Comptes  and  the  Cotir  des  Aides  completed  the  supreme  court  of 
justice,  that  of  the  sovereign. 

"  This  square,  this  island  of  houses  and  monuments,  which 
comprises  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  the  most  magnificent  jewel  of  the 
shrine  of  St.  Louis,  this  space  is  the  sanctuary  of  Paris,  the 
sacred  spot,  the  holy  ark.  At  first  this  space  was  the  whole 
primitive  city,  for  the  site  of  the  Place  Dauphine  was  a  field  de- 
pendent on  the  royal  domain  in  which  was  a  mill  to  coin  money. 
Hence,  the  name  of  the  Rue  de  la  Monnaie,  given  to  the  street 
leading  to  the  Pont  Neuf,  Hence  also  the  name  of  one  of  the 
three  round  towers,  the  second  one,  which  is  called  the  Tour  d'Ar- 
gent, which  would  seem  to  prove  that  money  was  originally  coined 
there.  The  famous  mill,  which  is  seen  in  the  old  plans  of  Paris, 
was  probably  later  than  the  time  when  money  was  coined  in  the 
palace  itself,  and  was  due  doubtless  to  an  improvement  in  the 
art  of  coining.  The  first  tower,  almost  united  to  the  Tour  d'Ar- 
gent, is  called  the  Montgommer>^  tower.  The  third  and  smallest, 
but  the  best  preserved,  for  it  retains  its  crenellations,  is  named 
the  Tower  Bonbec.  The  Sainte  Chapelle  and  its  four  towers,  in- 
cluding the  Tour  de  V Horloge,  defines  perfectly  the  boundary,  the 
perimeter,  as  a  topographer  would  say,  of  the  Palace,  from  the 
times  of  the  Merovingians  to  those  of  the  first  House  of  Valois. 
For  us,  however,  in  consequence  of  its  transformations,  the  pal- 
ace represents,  most  specially,  the  epoch  of  Saint  Louis. 

"Charles  V.  was  the  first  to  abandon  the  Palace  to  the  Par- 
liament, a  newly-created  institution,  and  to  inhabit,  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Bastille,  the  famous  Hôtel  de  St.  Pol,  to  which 
afterwards  the  palace  of  the  Tournelles  was  added.  Then,  un- 
der the  last  Valois  kings,  royalty  returned  to  the  Louvre,  which 


26o  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

had  been  its  first  bastille.  The  original  abode  of  the  kings  of 
France,  the  palace  of  St.  Louis,  which  has  preserved  the  name 
of  the  Palace  without  addition,  to  signify  the  Y*z].2ice  par  excellence, 
is  entirely  buried  under  the  Palace  of  Justice,  and  forms  the  cel- 
lars ;  for  it  was,  like  the  cathedral,  built  in  the  Seine,  and  built 
so  carefully  that  the  highest  floods  of  the  river  scarcely  covered 
the  first  steps.  The  Quai  de  V Horloge  covers  about  twenty  feet  of 
these  thousand-year-old  buildings.  Carriages  pass  on  a  level 
with  the  capitals  of  the  strong  columns  of  these  three  towers, 
the  elevation  of  which,  in  olden  times,  must  have  been  in  har- 
mony with  the  elegance  of  the  palace,  and  had  a  picturesque 
effect  on  the  water,  since,  even  now,  these  towers  vie  in  height 
with  the  most  elevated  monuments  of  Paris.  As  we  view  the 
immense  capital  from  the  top  of  the  lantern  of  the  Pantheon,  the 
Palace,  with  the  Samte  Chapelle,  still  appears  the  most  monu- 
mental of  all  the  monuments.  This  royal  palace,  over  which 
you  walk  as  )'Ou  traverse  the  immense  hall  des  Fas  Perdus,  was 
a  marvel  of  architecture,  and  is  so  still  to  the  e)^es  of  the  poet  who 
comes  to  study  it  while  examining  the  Conciergerie.  Alas  !  the 
Conciergerie  has  invaded  the  palace  of  the  kings.  The  heart 
bleeds  to  see  how  jails,  cells,  corridors,  dwelling-rooms,  and 
halls  without  light  or  air  have  been  cut  into  this  magnificent 
composition  in  which  Byzantine,  Roman,  and  Gothic,  the  three 
faces  of  ancient  art,  have  been  harmonized  by  the  architecture  of 
the  XII.  c.  This  palace  is  to  the  monumental  history  of  France 
of  the  first  period  what  the  Castle  of  Blois  is  to  the  monumental 
history  of  the  second  period.  Just  as  at  Blois  you  can  admire, 
in  the  same  court,  the  castle  of  the  Counts  of  Blois,  of  Louis  XII., 
of  Francis  I.,  and  of  Gaston,  so  at  the  Conciergerie  you  will 
discover,  in  the  same  circuit,  the  characteristics  of  the  early  race, 
and  in  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  the  architecture  of  St.  Louis." — Balzac, 
"  Scènes  de  la  vie  parisienne." 

We  are  now  facing  the  back  of  the  pile  of  buildings 
occupying  the  site  of  the  palace  inhabited  by  many  of  the 
early  sovereigns  of  France.  Even  in  Roman  times  there 
was  a  palace  here,  for  it  is  evident  from  the  allusions  in  his 
Misopogon  that  Julian  the  Apostate  lived,  not,  as  has  been 
often  stated,  at  the  Palais  des  Thermes,  but  upon  the 
Island  in  the  Seine.    Thence  he  must  have  seen  the  lumps 


LÎLE   DE   LA    CITÉ  261 

of  ice  floating  down  the  river,  which  he  compared  to  huge 
blocks  of  Phrygian  stone  ;  there  he  tried  to  subdue  the 
cold  of  his  chamber  by  a  stove  and  was  nearly  suffocated 
by  its  charcoal  ;  and  there  the  troops,  revolting  against 
Constantius  II.,  surrounded,  at  midnight,  the  palace  where 
Julian  was  living  with  his  wife  Helena,  and  proclaimed 
him  emperor.  Relics  of  the  strong  wall  which  surrounded 
the  Roman  palace — the  hasileia  as  Ammianus  and  Zosi- 
mus  call  it — existed  till  recent  times  at  the  corner  of  the 
Rue  de  Jérusalem,  and  remains  of  columns  belonging  to 
an  Ionic  portico  facing  the  river  were  exposed  when  the 
new  police  courts  were  built.  Amongst  the  many  other 
Roman  memorials  unearthed  here,  we  may  notice  a  cippus 
adorned  with  figures  of  Mercury,  his  mother  Maia,  Apollo, 
and  another  god,  which  was  discovered  at  the  western  end 
of  the  island. 

It  is  certain  that  several  of  the  early  kings  of  Paris, 
from  the  time  of  Dagobert,  lived  upon  the  island  of  La 
Cité.  There  Childebert  and  Clotaire  murdered  their 
nephews,  the  grandsons  of  Clotilde.  There  the  priest 
Heraclius  visited  Clotaire,  and  there  his  queen  Ingoberge 
reproached  him  for  his  infidelities  with  the  sisters  Marco- 
vese  and  Méroflède,  contemptuously  pointing  out  to  him 
their  father,  a  common  workman,  who  was  busied  in  wash- 
ing the  palace  linen  in  the  Seine,  at  the  bottom  of  the  gar- 
den. It  was  in  the  island  palace  that  Frédégonde  shut 
herself  up  after  the  murder  of  Chilpéric,  flying  thence 
after  a  time,  for  greater  security,  to  the  church  of  Notre 
Dame.  The  Roman  building  appears  to  have  lasted  till 
the  time  of  Comte  Eudes,  who  defended  Paris  from  the 
Normans,  and  he  rebuilt  the  palace  as  a  square  fortress, 
defended  by  lofty  towers,  and  having  a  façade  with  four 
great  round-headed  arches  flanked  by  two-story  bastions, 


202  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

of  which  the  remains  were  discovered  when  the  Cour  de 
Harlay  was  pulled  down  :  this  palace  of  Count  Eudes  was 
called  the  Palais-Nouveau.  The  tower  to  the  right  was 
supposed  to  have  been  that  inhabited  by  Queen  Blanche, 
mother  of  St.  Louis. 

Louis  le  Gros  and  Louis  le  Jeune,  who  endowed  re- 
spectively chapels  of  St.  Nicholas  and  of  Notre  Dame  de 
l'Etoile  in  the  palace,  both  died  within  its  walls.  Philippe 
Auguste  was  married  here  to  a  Danish  princess.  Raoul 
Glaber  describes  how  (1186)  the  king  loved  to  lean  from 
the  window  of  the  great  hall  and  watch  the  Seine.  In  the 
palace  vestibule,  or  in  its  garden  under  an  oak,  St.  Louis 
administered  justice  in  t\\e  plaids  de  la  porte. 

But  the  mention  of  St.  Louis  urges  us  to  hasten  on  to 
the  buildings  of  his  time.  The  façade  towards  the  Place 
Dauphine  only  dates  from  1869,  when  it  was  designed  by 
M.Duc.  To  gain  the  main  entrance  of  the  palace  we  can 
either  turn  to  the  right  by  the  Qiiai  des  Orfèvres,''  which 
recalls  St.  Eloy,^  goldsmith,  prime  minister,  finally  bishop, 
who  settled  here  in  the  jDrimitive  time  of  Dagobert,  and 
which  was  afterwards  entiely  lined  by  jewellers'  shops; 
or,  we  may  turn  to  the  left  by  the  Quai  de  r Horloge,  named 
from  what  is  still  the  chief  external  feature  of  the  palace, 
the  Tour  de  V Horloge,  which  has  been  restored  on  its  old 
lines,  and  is  partially  old.  Its  great  clock,  with  decora- 
tions by  Germain  Pilon,  commemorates  the  oldest  clock  in 
Paris,  constructed  by  the  German  Henri  Vic,  and  erected 
by  Charles  V. 

It  was  the  bell  of  this  tower  which  gave  the  signal  for 

*  It  was  on  the  Quai  des  Orfèvres  that  the  Ménippée^  the  famous  satire  of 
the  XVI.  c,  was  composed,  in  the  house  of  Jacques  Gillot,  by  the  owner  and 
his  friends,  and  in  the  same  house  that  his  great  nephew,  Nicolas  Boileau 
Desprearix,  was  born, 

-  St.  Eligius, 


PA  LA /s  DR   LA    CLTÊ  263 

the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Seine,  which  the  bell  of  St.  Germain  FAuxerrois  had  al- 
ready given  on  the  right. 

"  The  bell  of  the  Horloge  of  the  Palace  gave  the  second  signal 
of  massacre.  .  .  .  This  old  tower  still  exists,  from  which  that 
frightful  tocsin  sounded  ;  in  the  evening,  as  he  returns  home, 
the  inhabitant  of  Paris  looks  at  the  gloomy  edifice  with  indigna- 
tion, and  hurries  away  with  a  shudder.  .  .  .  From  that  moment 
blood  flows  in  streams  on  both  banks  of  the  Seine  ;  in  all  quar- 
ters doors  are  forced,  citizens  murdered,  and  their  bodies  flung 
from  the  windows.  The  fleeing  citizen  hears  the  distant  echo  of 
cries  of  rage  and  despair,  the  blasphemies  of  those  who  murder, 
the  supplications  of  those  who  beg  for  life,  the  sound  of  the 
arquebusses  that  kill,  the  clash  of  swords  that  attack  and  defend, 
the  groans  of  victims  that  expire  ;  then  a  sinister  sound  of  broken 
glass,  of  doors  burst  open,  of  furniture  dragged  over  the  pave- 
ment to  be  burned,  and  whirlwinds  of  flame  and  smoke  crown 
this  Paris,  abandoned  to  the  furies  and  demons,  who  massacre, 
rob,  violate,  and  burn." — Touchard-La fosse,  "  IList.  de  /\ir/s." 

Only  part  of  the  buildings  adjoining  the  Tour  de 
l'Horloge  is  ancient.  Two  round  towers — t/e  Cesar  and  dc 
Mfliitgommcry — retain  little  that  is  really  old,  though  they 
have  been  reconstructed  in  the  style  of  the  XIV.  c.  The 
latter  commemorates  the  tower,  pulled  down  in  1776, 
where  the  Earl  of  Montgomery  was  imprisoned  after  fotally 
wounding  Henri  II.  at  a  tournament,  and  where  Ravaillac 
murderer  of  Henri  IV.,  and  Damiens,  who  attempted  to 
murder  Louis  XV.,  spent  their  last  days.  A  third  tower, 
called  Tour  d'Argefif,  encloses  the  bell  called  Tocsin  du 
Palais,  which  repeated  the  signal  for  the  Massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  given  by  St.  Germain  TAuxerrois. 

"The  residence  of  the  kings  of  France  in  the  Island  of  the 
Cité  was  designated  as  the  Palace  par  excellence,  while  the  ex- 
pression was  always  the  Château  of  the  Louvre,  or  the  Château 
of  Vincenncs.  This  palace,  in  which  the  sovereigns  held  their 
court  from  the  days  of  the  Capetians  to  Charles  V.,  presented  at 
the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth  century  a  mass  of  buildings, 


264  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  oldest  of  which  went  back  to  the  epoch  of  St.  Louis,  and  the 
latest  dated  from  the  reign  of  Philippe  le  Bel.  Excavations  re- 
cently made  within  the  palace  have  brought  to  light  some  remains 
of  Gallo-Roman  constructions,  especially  on  the  side  of  the  Rue 
de  la  Barillerie,  but  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  buildings 
nothing  remains  anterior  to  the  reign  of  Louis  IX." — Viollet-le- 
Dîic. 

Very  little  of  the  ancient  palace  remains.  The  beauti- 
ful gothic  buildings  of  the  XVI.  c,  erected  by  Louis  XII., 
which  surrounded  the  Cour  du  Mai,  after  having  long  been 


PALAIS   DE   LA   CITE. 


much  mutilated,  totally  perished  in  the  three  fires  of  16 18, 
1737,  and  1776.  These  fires  also  destroyed  the  halls  of 
St.  Louis  ;  the  Hôtel  Isabeau,  once  occupied  by  the  faith- 
less wife  of  Charles  VI.;  the  rooms  in  which  the  Burgun- 
dians  (June  10,  1467)  seized  the  Comte  d'Armagnac,  Con- 
stable of  France,  the  Chancellor  Henri  de  Masle,  and 
others,  and  dragged  them  forth  to  murder  them  "  bien  in- 
humainement ;  "  the  ''  Grand  Salle,"  which  beheld  the  coro- 
nation banquet  of  Henry  VI.  of  England  as  King  of  France  ; 
and  the  room  in  which  St.  Louis  passed  the  first  night  after 
his  marriage,  and  in  which  all  kings  of  France  were  ex 


PALAIS  DE   LA    CITÉ  265 

pected  to  sleep  the  night  after  their  arrival  in  Paris.  Most 
of  the  buildings  erected  after  the  fire  of  1776,  perished 
during  the  savage  and  ignorant  furies  of  the  Commune  in 
1871.  The  existing  buildings — a  central  body,  with  two 
wings — only  date  from  1874.  The  only  important  remnant 
of  antiquity  now  remaining  is  a  vaulted  hall  of  the  time  of 
St.  Louis,  with  four  large  chimneys  at  its  angles,  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  les  aiisines  de  St.  Louis, 

"A  hall  vaulted  on  a  series  of  rows  of  columns  with  four 
large  chimneys  at  the  angles  can  still  be  seen.  This  hall,  look- 
ing on  the  quay  to  the  north,  alongside  the  Tour  de  V Horloge,  is 
known  as  '  St.  Louis'  kitchen.'  The  building,  however,  belongs 
to  the  end  of  the  XIII.  c.  or  the  beginning  of  the  XIV.  c,  and  is 
contemporaneous  with  the  work  built  under  Philippe  le  Bel. 
The  mantles  of  the  four  chimneys  form,  horizontally  projecting, 
an  obtuse  angle,  and  the  key  stones  are  supported  by  a  kiitd  of 
stone  buttress.  An  examination  of  the  spot  leads  us  to  suppose 
that  this  kitchen  had  two  stories.  The  lower  one,  which  still 
exists,  was  probably  reserved  for  the  household,  and  the  kitchen 
on  the  upper  story  devoted  to  serve  the  king's  table."— F^W/^/Vf- 
Duc. 

The  main  portal  of  the  palace  is  approached  from  the 
Cour  i}' Honneur  by  a  great  staircase  and  perron— sign  of 
power  and  jurisdiction,  replacing  the  famous  perron  erected 
by  Enguerrand  de  Marigny  in  the  time  of  Philippe  le  Bel, 
and  where,  under  Louis  le  Hutin,  when  the  architect  was 
condemned  to  be  hanged,  his  effigy  was  "jettee  du  haut 
en  bas  des  grands  degrez  du  palais."  ^  A  little  to  the  left, 
in  front  of  this  staircase,  was  planted  the  May.  At  its 
foot,  stood  the  Montoir,  used  by  the  judges  when  they 
mounted  their  mules  after  their  day's  work.  Public  ex- 
posures formerly  took  place  here  upon  a  platform  opposite 
the  grille,  originally  provided  with  the  purchase-money  for 

»  Corrozet,  AntiquitJs  de  Paris. 


266  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  site  of  the  house  of  Jean  Chastel,  razed  to  the  ground 
by  order  of  Parhament. 

The  interior  of  the  palace  can  be  visited  daily  from  lo 
to  4,  except  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  A  passage  on  the 
left  leads  to  the  advocates'  library,  and  on  the  right  to  the 
lower  story  of  the  Salle  des  Pas  Perdus^  rebuilt,  after  its 
destruction  under  the  Commune,  on  the  lines  of  the  re- 
construction (1622)  of  the  famous  hall  called  Grande  Salle 
du  Palais,  erected  in  the  time  of  Philippe  le  Bel,  by  En- 
guerrand  de  Marigny,  Comte  de  Longueville,  where  all  the 
great  solemnities  of  the  monarchy  were  carried  out,  and  to 
which  the  jDeople  were  always  admitted.  Its  vaulted  roof 
is  supported  by  three  ranges  of  pillars,  the  central  the 
strongest.  At  the  end  of  the  ancient  hall  stood  the  royal 
dining-table,  of  a  single  block  of  marble,  so '  large  "que 
jamais  on  vit  pareille  tranche  de  marbre  au  monde."  This 
table  was  sometimes  used  as  a  pillory,  and  often  as  a  stage 
for  the  theatrical  representations  of  the  clerks  of  the 
palace,  in  which  they  were  allowed  to  burlesque  their 
superiors.  At  the  other  end  of  the  hall,  a  beautiful  gothic 
chapel  was  added  by  Louis  XI.  The  old  hall  is  thus  de- 
cribed  by  Victor  Hugo  :  * 

"  Over  our  head  is  a  double  vault  of  gothic  groining,  lined 
with  carved  wainscoting,  painted  azure,  and  sprinkled  with 
golden  fleurs-de-lis.  Under  our  feet,  a  pavement  of  black  and 
white  marble  in  alternate  squares.  A  few  paces  from  us,  an 
enormous  pillar — then  another — then  another,  making,  in  all, 
seven  pillars  in  the  length  of  the  hall,  supporting,  in  a  central 
line,  the  internal  extremities  of  the  double  vaulting.  Around 
the  four  first  pillars  are  little  shops  or  stalls,  all  glittering  with 
glass  and  trinkets  ;  and  around  the  three  last  are  oaken  benches, 
worn  and  polished  by  the  breeches  of  the  pleaders  and  the  gowns 
of  the  procureurs.  Around  the  hall,  along  the  lofty  walls,  be- 
tween the  doors,  between  the  windows,  between  the  pillars,  we 
behold  the  interminable   range  of  the  statues  of  all  the  French 


PALAIS  DE   LA   CITÉ 


267 


kings,  from  Pharamond  downward.  Then,  in  the  long  pointed 
windows,  glows  painted  glass  of  a  thousand  colors  ;  at  the  large 
entrances  of  the  hall  are  rich  doors  finely  carved  ;  and  the  whole 
— vaults,  pillars,  walls,  cornices,  and  door-cases,  wainscoting, 
doors,  and  statues — are  splendidly  illuminated  from  top  to  bot- 
tom with  blue  and  gold." — "  N'otre  Dame  de  Paris." 

On  one  side  of  the  existing  hall  is  a  monument  by 
Durnoiit  to  Malesherbes,  the  defender  of  Louis  XVI.,  with 
a  statue,  and  the  inscription  "  Strenue,  semper  fidelis  rcgi 
suo,  in  solio  veritatem,  praesidium  in  carcere  attulit." 
Another  monument,  with  a  statue  by  Chapji^  commemo- 
rates Berryer. 

Leaving  the  hall  by  the  gallery  which  runs  parallel  to 
the  Cour  d'Honneur,  and  turning  at  once  to  the  right  by 
the  Galerie  Marchande  or  des  Merciers — named  from  the 
tradesmen  who  once  had  stalls  there — we  reach  a  new 
Salle  des  Pas  Perdus,  the  work  of  Due,  decorated  at  one 
end  with  statues  of  St.  Louis  and  Philippe  Auguste,  at  the 
other  with  those  of  Charlemagne  and  Napoleon  I. 
Grouped  around  this  hall  are  the  different  law  courts. 
The  Galerie  St.  Louis  (on  the  right  of  the  Galerie  des 
Marchands)  reproduces  the  style  of  the  time  of  Louis  IX. 
Near  the  prison  of  Marie  Antoinette  are  shown  the  stone 
tables  "  des  charités  de  St.  Louis." 

From  the  time  of  St.  Louis,  Parliament  shared  the 
palace  with  the  king,  and  after  the  accession  of  Henri  IL, 
who  lived  entirely  at  the  Hôtel  des  Tournelles,  it  was  left 
in  sole  possession.  But  the  Parliament  perished  with  the 
Revolution,  which  it  had  contributed  to  bring  about.  Sus- 
pended by  a  law  of  November  3,  1789,  it  was  suppressed  on 
August  29  following.  Then  the  massacres  in  the  prisons 
were  organzied  in  the  former  hotel  of  its  President,  and 
the  tribunal  of  executioners  sat  in  the  Cour  de  Mai,  at 
the  foot  of  the  grand  staircase,  opposite  what  was  then  the 


268  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

principal  entrance  to  the  Conciergerie.  M.  de  Montmorin, 
the  former  governor  of  Fontainebleau  ;  Bachmann,  the 
major  of  the  Swiss  guard,  and  seven  of  his  officers,  were 
the  first  victims,  sentenced  and  executed  here  on  the  spot. 
Then,  for  twenty-four  hours  the  palace  was  given  up  to 
massacre,  in  the  corridors,  in  the  courts,  in  the  cells. 
Most  of  the  prisoners  were  killed  without  any  examination. 
If  thirty-six  were  allowed  to  escape,  it  was  because  they 
were  known  to  be  thieves,  or  assassins  of  the  worst  de- 
scription. The  women  were  spared,  only  one  out  of 
seventy  being  executed  with  the  most  refined  tortures. 

"A  young  girl  of  wonderful  beauty,  known  as  la  Belle  Bou- 
quetière, accused  of  having  wounded,  in  a  fit  of  jealousy,  a  sub- 
officer  of  the  Gardes  Françaises,  her  lover,  vvas  to  be  tried  in 
a  few  days.  The  murderers,  among  whom  were  some  avengers 
of  the  crime  and  some  instigators  animated  by  her  rival,  antici- 
pated the  executioner's  duty.  Théroigne  de  Méricourt  lent  her 
genius  to  the  torture.  The  victim  was  tied  to  a  post  with  her 
legs  apart,  her  feet  nailed  to  the  ground,  and  her  body  burned 
with  lighted  wisps  of  straw.  Her  breasts  were  cut  off  with  a 
sword,  and  red  hot  pikes  were  thrust  into  her  flesh.  At  last,  she 
was  impaled  on  these  red  hot  irons,  and  her  screams  were  heard 
across  the  Seine,  and  struck  with  horror  the  inhabitants  of  the 
other  bank.  Fifty  women  whom  the  murderers  had  released 
from  the  Conciergerie  lent  a  hand  to  these  tortures  and  surpassed 
the  men  in  ferocity." — Lamartine. 

From  March,  1791,  the  revolutionary  tribunal  met  in 
the  Grand  Chamber,  which — much  altered  otherwise — still 
retained  the  vaulted  roof  of  Louis  XII.  The  president  sat 
beneath  a  bust  of  Socrates,  to  which  busts  of  Le  Pelletier 
and  Marat  were  added  after  their  death.  It  was  here  that 
Charlotte  Corday,  Marie  Antoinette,  the  Girondins,  Mme 
Roland,  and  hundreds  of  others,  were  tried  in  turn,  in 
sittings  by  day  and  night,  whence  Fouquier  emerged  so 
fatigued  with  his  horrible  task,  that  he  could  scarcely  drag 


LA    CONCIERGERIE  269 

himself  to  his  own  rooms  near  the  Conciergerie,  which  the 
secretaries  of  the  procureur  general  occupy  now.  So  dazed 
was  he  with  the  blood  he  poured  out,  that  one  day,  pass- 
ing the  Pont-Neuf  with  Seran,  he  declared  that  instead  of 
water  he  saw  the  Seine  rolling  blood. 

Two  parasite  buildings,  the  Conciergerie,  and  the  Pre- 
fecture of  Police,  are  now  annexed  to  the  Palais  de  Justice. 
The  Co7iciergerie  takes  its  name  from  the  house  of  the  con- 
cierge in  the  time  of  the  royal  residence  here,  who  had  a 
right  to  two  "  poules  "  a  day  and  to  the  cinders  and  ashes 
of  the  king's  chimney.  It  has  always  been  a  prison,  and  it 
was  here  that  the  Comte  d'Armagnac  was  murdered,  June 
12,  1418.  Here  was  made,  below  the  level  of  the  Seine, 
the  prison  called  La  Souricière,  from  the  rats  which  had 
the  reputation  of  eating  the  prisoners  alive.  The  present 
Conciergerie  occupies  the  lower  story  of  the  right  wing  of 
the  existing  Palais  de  Justice,  and  extends  along  the  Quai 
de  l'Horloge,  as  far  as  the  towers  of  Montgommery  and 
César.  It  has  an  entrance  on  the  quay,  before  which  the 
guillotine-carts  received  the  victims  of  the  Reign  of  Terror, 
and  another  to  the  right  of  the  great  staircase  in  the  Cour 
d'Honneur. 

The  Conciergerie  can  only  be  visited  on  Thursdays  from  12 
to  4,  with  an  order  from  the  Prefecture  of  Police. 

All  other  associations  of  the  Conciergerie  are  lost  in 
those  which  were  attached  to  it  by  the  great  Revolution. 
The  cell  in  which  Marie  Antoinette  suffered  her  seventy- 
five  days'  agony — from  August  2  till  October  15,  when  she 
was  condemned — was  turned  into  a  chapelle  expiatoire  in 
1816.  The  lamp  still  exists  which  lighted  the  august  pris- 
oner and  enabled  her  guards  to  watch  her  through  the 
night.  The  door  still  exists  (though  changed  in  position' 
which  was  cut  transversely  in  half  and  the  upper  part  fixed 


2  70  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

that  the  queen  might  be  forced  to  bend  in  going  out,  be- 
cause she  had  said  that  whatever  indignities  they  might 
inflict  upon  her  they  could  never  force  her  to  bend  the 
head. 

"The  pity  of  Richard  the  concierge,  sustained  and  en- 
couraged by  the  mute  approbation  and  secret  support  of  some 
officers  of  the  municipality,  disregarded  the  orders  of  Fouquier, 
and  the  queen  was  installed,  not  in  a  cell,  but  in  a  room  with  two 
windows  looking  on  the  women's  yard.  It  was  a  pretty  large 
square  room,  the  old  Council  Hall,  where  the  magistrates  of  the 
supreme  courts,  before  the  Revolution,  used  to  come  and  receive 
the  complaints  of  the  prisoners.  On  the  wall,  as  if  inanimate 
things  had,  near  the  queen,  a  soul  and  speech,  the  old  paper  dis- 
played the  Jleurs-de-lys,  peeling  off  in  strips  and  fading  under 
the  saltpetre.  A  partition,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a  large 
opening,  divided  the  room  lengthwise  into  two  rooms  nearly 
equal,  and  each  lighted  by  a  window  on  the  yard.  The  inner 
room  was  that  of  the  queen  ;  the  other,  on  which  the  door  opened, 
was  the  room  where  two  gendarmes  remained  day  and  night, 
separated  from  the  queen  only  by  a  screen  unfolded  before  the 
opening. 

"  All  the  furniture  in  Marie  Antoinette's  room  was  a  little 
wooden  bed,  to  the  right  of  the  entrance,  facing  the  window,  and 
a  straw  chair  in  the  bay  of  the  window,  in  which  the  queen  used 
to  pass  nearly  the  whole  day  Avatching  the  people  going  to  and  fro 
in  the  yard,  or  catching,  from  the  conversations  held  in  a  loud 
voice  near  her  window,  the  news  which  the  women  prisoners 
gave  her. 

"  The  queen  had  not  been  able  to  bring  her  linen,  which  was 
under  seal  at  the  Temple,  and  Michouis  wrote  on  the  19th  of 
August  to  the  municipal  officers  on  duty  at  the  Temple  :  '  Citi- 
zen colleagues,  Marie  Antoinette  has  charged  me  to  send  her  four 
chemises  and  a  pair  of  slippers  not  numbered,  of  which  she  is  in 
pressing  need.'  These  four  hapless  chemises  asked  for  by 
Michouis,  soon  reduced  to  three,  are  not  delivered  to  the  queen 
but  at  intervals  of  ten  days.  The  queen  had  only  two  gowns, 
which  she  put  on,  one  every  two  days  ;  her  poor  black  gown  and 
her  poor  white  gown — both  rotted  by  the  dampness  of  the  room. 
.  .  .  We  must  stop  here,  words  fail  us. 

"Long  days,  long  months  !  She  prayed,  read,  and  kept  her 
courage  unbroken." — De  Concourt,  ''Hist,  de  Marie  Antoinette" 


LA    CONCIERGERIE 


27: 


After  her  condemnation,  Marie  Antoinette  was  not 
brought  back  to  this  chamber.  It  was  a  far  more  miser- 
able cell  which  saw  her  write  her  last  touching  farewell  to 
Madame  Elizabeth.  But  this  was  the  room  in  which  the 
Girondins  spent  their  last  night,  when,  as  Riouffe,  himself 
in  the  prison  at,  the  time,  says,  "  toute  cette  nuit  affreuse 
retentit  de  leurs  chants,  et  s'ils  les  interrompaient  c'était 
pour  s'entretenir  de  leur  patrie."  The  adjoining  cell,  now 
used  as  a  sacristy,  was  the  prison  of  Robespierre. 

Lighted  by  narrow  windows  from  the  same  inner  court 
of  the  prison  are  cells  occupied  in  turn  by  Bailly,  Males- 
herbes,  Madame  Elizabeth,  Mme  Roland,  Camille  Des- 
moulins, Danton,  and  Fabre  d'Eglantine.  In  1792,  288 
prisoners  were  massacred  in  the  prison.  Afterwards 
Georges  Cadoudal  was  imprisoned  here.  The  Comte  de 
Lavalette  was  rescued  from  hence  by  the  courage  of  his 
wife.  In  later  days  Louvel,  the  assassin  of  the  Due  de 
Berri,  Teste,  Béranger,  and  Proudhon,  have  been  amongst 
the  prisoners  of  the  Conciergerie. 

"  The  great  entrance  hall,  receiving  only  a  doubtful  light  from 
two  wickets,  for  the  only  window  looking  on  the  court  of  arrival 
is  entirely  occupied  by  the  clerk's  office  enclosing  it,  presents  to 
the  eye  an  atmosphere  and  a  light  perfectly  in  keeping  with  the 
images  preconceived  by  the  imagination.  It  is  the  more  appall- 
ing that,  parallel  to  the  towers  d'Argent  and  Montgommery, 
you  perceive  the  mysterious  crypts,  and  heavy  vaults,  without 
light,  which  run  around  the  parloir  and  lead  to  the  cells  of  the 
queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth  and  the  dungeons  called  les  secrets." 
— Balzac,  "  Scènes  de  la  vie  parisienne.  " 

"The  rules  of  the  Conciergeri*e  were  the  same  for  all  ;  the 
duke  was  not  distinguished  from  the  thief  by  the  simple  fact  of 
being  duke,  but  only  because  he  paid  better.  Here  equality  was 
realized  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive  such  a  system,  but  it 
was  the  equality  of  misery. 

"One  day,  as  he  saw,  wandering  round  and  round,  through 
the  huge  bars  which  divided  the  prison,  murderers,  philosophers, 


2^2  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

dukes,  princes,  poets,  financiers,  and  thieves,  Barnave  said  to 
me  :  *  As  you  behold  these  powerful  princes,  these  philosophers, 
these  legislators,  these  miserable  outcasts,  all  confounded  to- 
gether, does  it  not  seem  to  you  that  we  are  transported  to  the 
banks  of  that  infernal  river  of  which  fable  speaks,  and  which  one 
must  pass  without  hope  of  return  ?  '  '  Yes,'  I  replied,  '  and  we  are 
on  the  front  of  the  stage.'  The  unfortunate  man  was  killed  a  few 
days  afterwards. 

"  At  midnight  the  concierge  visited  all  the  cells  and  rooms, 
accompanied  by  two  turnkeys  and  two  enormous  dogs.  While 
he  talked  with  us,  one  of  the  turnkeys  sounded  the  walls  and 
ceiling  with  a  long  pike  to  make  sure  that  we  had  made  no  holes. 

"  If  the  river  rises  a  little,  the  floor  of  the  Conciergerie,  which 
is  close  to  it,  is  on  the  same  level,  then  dampness  rules  every- 
where, and  the  water  drips  down  the  walls.  A  dense  smoke 
choking  the  breath,  the  state  of  misery,  the  disgusting  ailments 
of  the  dwellers  in  these  places,  affects  your  sight  and  makes  your 
gorge  rise  as  soon  as  you  set  foot  therein  ;  it  is  the  vapor  of  the 
infernal  regions  exhaling  from  the  mouth  of  Avernus.  It  seems 
as  if  by  design  the  spot  where  these  horrors  arc  all  accumulated, 
was  chosen  for  the  abode  of  the  hapless  Marie  Antoinette. 

"Among  the  countless  victims  I  have  seen  condemned  to 
lose  their  lives,  I  know  of  only  three  or  four  at  most  who  showed 
any  weakness.  Of  this  number  was  the  famous  Mme  Dubarry  ; 
I  saw  her  faint  in  the  Conciergerie  after  her  condemnation  ;  she 
cried  out  '  Help  !  help  !  '  as  she  went  to  execution.  In  a  similar 
situation,  the  Duke  du  Châtelet,  having  no  means  to  take  away 
his  life,  dashed  his  head  against  the  wall.  Having  no  offensive 
weapons,  he  broke  a  pane  of  glass  and  attempted  to  stab  himself 
in  the  side  with  the  broken  glass  ;  he  did  not  succeed,  and  only 
inundated  himself  with  blood.  He  was  taken  to  the  scaffold  in 
this  condition.  With  these  exceptions,  all  the  condemned  were 
as  tranquil,  sometimes  as  gay,  after  their  condemnation  as  be- 
fore."— Bemilieti,  ''Essais  historiques.^' 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  left  by  one  of  the  three  vaulted 
passages  which  lead  from  the  Cour  d'Honneur  to  the 
Samte  Chapelle  (open  to  the  public  daily,  except  Monday 
and  Friday,  from  12  to  4)  which,  in  spite  of  a  restoration 
almost  amounting  to  renewal,  is  still  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  buildings  in  France.     The  earliest  chapel  of  the 


^1 

LA  sainte-ciiapkllp:  273 

palace,  which  is  supposed  to  have  occupied  the  same  site, 
was  dedicated  to  St.  Barthélémy  ;  the  second,  to  St. 
Nicolas. 

It  was  the  reception  of  the  Crown  of  Thorns  from  Jean 
de  Brienne,  Emperor  of  Constantinople,'  and  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  True  Cross  from  his  successor  Baudouin,^ 
which  made  St.  Louis  determine  to  build  a  shrine  worthy 
to  contain  them.  Pierre  de  Montereau  was  employed  as 
an  architect,  and  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  begun  in  1242,  was 
finished  in  1247.  The  two  stories  of  the  building,  forming 
two  chapels,  were  consecrated  April  25,  1248,  the  upper 
under  the  title  of  St.  Couronne  and  St.  Croix,  the  lower 
under  that  of  St.  Marie. 

"  From  all  time,  this  building,  due  to  Master  Pierre  de  Mon- 
tereau, was  considered  with  justice  as  a  masterpiece.  The  king, 
Saint  Louis,  spared  nothing  to  make  it  the  most  brilliant  jewel  of 
his  dominions,  and  if  there  is  one  surprising  thing  about  it,  it  is 
the  short  time  employed  in  its  construction.  Taking  the  widest 
dates,  we  must  admit  that  the  Sainte  Chapelle  was  founded  and 
completely  finished  in  the  space  of  five  years  ;  eight  hundred 
thousand  livres  tournois  were  expended  on  its  erection,  its  decora- 
tion, and  the  acquisition  of  the  precious  relics  it  contained.  A 
scrupulous  observation  of  the  archaeological  characteristics  of  the 
Sainte  Chapelle  compels  an  acceptance  of  the  truth  of  the  historic 
dates.  The  mode  of  construction  and  the  ornamentation  belong 
to  that  brief  portion  of  the  thirteenth  century.  During  the  reigns 
of  Philip  Augustus  and  of  Saint  Louis,  the  progress  of  architecture 
is  so  rapid,  that  a  period  of  five  years  introduces  perceptible 
modifications  ;  now,  the  great-est  unity  reigns  in  this  building, 
from  base  to  summit." — Viollet-de-Diic. 

• 
The  great  height  of  the  building,  without  visible  aisles 

or  transept,  is  very  striking.     The  lower  part  of  the  north 

*  A  similar  relic— the  duplicate  of  this— is  preserved,  under  three  keys,  in 
the  Dominican  monastery  at  Vicenza  ! 

2  Those  believed  to  be  possessed  by  evil  spirits  were  brought  hither  on  the 
night  of  Good  Friday  to  be  freed  from  the  devil  by  the  sight  of  the  True  Cross. 


2  74  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

side  and  part  of  the  chevet  are  hidden  by  modern  build- 
ings. The  buttresses,  which  sustain  all  the  weight  of  the 
vaults,  rise  to  the  full  height  of  the  building  between  the 
windows,  and  terminate  in  rich  foliated  pinnacles.  Be- 
tween them,  gables,  richly  sculptured,  surmount  the  win- 
dows of  the  upper  chapel.  Beneath  the  fourth  window  is 
an  oratory  constructed  by  Louis  XI.  that  he  might  hear 
mass  without  being  seen,  and  beneath  this  an  oratory 
formerly  dedicated  to  St.  Louis.  The  steeple  is  a  modern 
restoration  of  one  erected  by  Charles  VIII.  and  burnt  in 
1630.  The  portal  is  on  the  west  facing  the  buildings  of 
the  Hôtel  du  Pre'fet  de  Police.  Above  the  platform  over 
the  porch  is  the  great  flamboyant  rose-window  which  was 
added  by  Charles  VIII.  in  1495,  surmounted  by  a  balus- 
trade of  fleurs-de-lis  and  by  turrets  on  either  side  of  the 
gable,  which  contains  a  smaller  rose-window.  On  the 
balustrade  two  angels  crown  the  chiffre  of  King  Charles. 
On  the  pinnacles  hangs  the  Crown  of  Thorns. 

The  sculptures  of  the  lower  porch  refer  to  the  Virgin, 
as  those  of  the  upper  to  Christ.  The  lower  portal  is 
divided  into  two  bays,  between  which  an  ancient  statue  of 
the  Virgin  has  been  restored,  as  well  as  a  relief  of  her 
Coronation  in  the  tympanum.  In  the  lozenges  of  the 
stylobate  of  the  columns,  the  lilies  of  France  alternate  with 
the  towers  of  Castille,  in  honor  of  Queen  Blanche,  mother 
of  St.  Louis.  The  chapel  is  a  nave  with  narrow  aisles. 
Forty  pillars  sustain  the  vaulting,  of  which  the  keys,  in 
sculptured  cl^stnut-wood,  are  very  remarkable.  The 
windows  are  curved  triangles.  The  wall-decorations  are 
restorations  from  traces  of  ancient  work.  The  floor  is 
paved  with  thirty-four  curious  gravestones,  chiefly  of 
canons  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle.  Boileau  was  buried 
amongst  them.     The  tomb-stone  of  his  brother  Jacques 


LA    SAINTE-CHAPELLE 


275 


Still   remains  here,  but  the  remains  of  the  poet  were  re- 
moved, after  the  Revolution,  to  St.  Germain  des  Prés. 

"  He  was  interred,  not  at  St.  Jean-Ie-Rond  or  at  Notre  Dame, 
as  the  situation  of  his  last  dwelling'  seemed  to  require,  but  in  the 
Sainte  Chapelle^  the  parish  in  which  he  was  born,  and  the  scene 


LA  SAINTE- CHAPELLE. 

where  the  heroes  of  his  epic  combated.  He  had  so  ordered  in 
his  last  will.  In  complying  with  this  last  injunction,  by  a  strange 
chance,  it  happened  that  his  tomb  was  placed  just  below  that 
'  Lutrin  '  which  he  sang  in  such  comic  strains." — Fournie?;  "  Pm-is 
démoli." 

No  external  stair  leads  to  the  upper  chapel,  because  it 

^  In  the  Cloître  Notre  Dame. 


276  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

was  the  royal  oratory  opening  from  the  palace.  We  ascend, 
by  an  inner  staircase,  to  the  platform  of  the  upper  porch, 
a  vast  covered  balcony,  forming  the  real  approach,  by 
which  the  royal  family  entered,  and  communicating  on  the 
north  with  the  palace  galleries.  Hence  the  upper  chapel 
is  entered  by  a  gothic  double  portal,  of  which  the  beautiful 
wreathed-work  at  the  sides  is  ancient  ;  the  statue  of  Christ 
is  a  restoration.  On  the  lintel  is  the  Last  Judgment,  and 
in  the  tympanum  is  the  Saviour  with  his  hands  raised, 
having  the  Virgin  and  St.  John  at  the  sides.  The  bas- 
relief  of  the  Creation  and  History  of  the  Old  Testament 
at  the  base,  are  also  restorations. 

The  upper  church  is  a  mass  of  gilding,  and  harmonious 
in  color  from  the  fifteen  stained  windows,  which,  as  far  as 
possible,  are  restorations  of  the  old  windows  mutilated 
during  and  after  the  Revolution.  Eleven  are  filled  with 
scenes  from  Old  Testament  history,  but  three  in  the  apse 
and  one  in  the  nave  are  devoted  to  legendary  history  and 
that  of  the  translation  of  the  chapel  relics.  In  the  great 
rose  of  Charles  VIH.,  the  subjects  are  taken  from  the 
Apocalypse.  Below  the  windows  is  an  arcade,  with 
sculptures  representing  martyrdoms.  Beautiful  statues  of 
the  twelve  apostles  lean  against  the  lower  pillars,  all  bear- 
ing a  cross  of  consecration.  The  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth 
statues  on  the  left,  and  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  on  the 
right,  are  ancient.  These  statues  and  the  small  figures  of 
angels  have  shaken  off  the  stillness  and  stiffness  which 
characterized  the  earlier  style  (as  at  Notre  Dame,  Amiens, 
&c.),  and  are  represented  in  movement,  displaying  the 
germ  of  theatrical  mannerism,  but  as  yet  simple  and  full 
of  grace.  ^ 

"These  figures  are  executed  in  sandstone,  and  are  of  admirable 
»  Lubke. 


LA    SAINTE-CHAPELLE  277 

workmanship,  covered  with  ornaments,  painted  and  gilded  in 
imitation  of  rich  stuffs  turned  up  witli  Ijorders  sewn  with  precious 
stones." — Viollit-le-Duc,  i.  27. 

Under  the  windows  of  the  fourth  bay  on  either  side  the 
nave  are  niches,  containing  the  places  of  honor  reserved 
for  the  king  and  queen.  In  the  fifth  bay  (right)  a  grille 
permitted  Louis  XI.  to  assist,  unseen,  at  mass.  Left  of 
the  altar  a  door  opens  to  the  sacristy.  In  the  second  bay 
left)  a  little  door  communicated  with  an  external  gallery. 
The  altar,  before  which  many  royal  marriages  had  taken 
place,  and  several  queens  (amongst  others  Isabeau  de 
Bavière)  had  been  crowned,  was  destroyed  during  the 
Revolution,  and,  with  the  reliquary  above  it,  is  a  restora- 
tion. 

"  It  is  a  grand  ark  of  bronze,  gilt  and  ornamented  with  some 
figures  on  the  front,  and  raised  on  a  gothic  vault  placed  behind 
the  high  altar,  at  the  apse  of  the  church,  and  is  closed  by  ten 
keys  with  different  wards,  six  of  which  close  the  two  exterior 
doors,  and  the  other  four  an  interior  trellis  work  of  two  leaves." — 
JérÔ7ne  Morand,   ''Hist,  de  la  Sainte-Chapelle" 

One  of  the  little  tourelles  at  the  sides  of  the  shrine,  that 
on  the  north,  still  contains  the  actual  wooden  stair  which 
was  ascended  by  St.  Louis,  when  he  went  to  take  from  its 
tabernacle  the  Crown  of  Thorns,  which  he,  and  he  alone, 
was  permitted  to  exhibit  to  the  people  below,  through  a 
large  pane  of  glass,  purposely  inserted  and  alwa3'S  mov- 
able, in  the  end  window  of  the  apse. 

"A  little  behind  the  altar,  a  pierced  arcade  crosses  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  apse;  itg  location  is  like  that  of  the  old  rood-lofts  ; 
but  it  has  not  the  same  object.  It  is  composed  of  seven  light 
pointed  arches,  supported  by  delicate  columns,  lightened  up  by 
glass  mosaics,  and  ornamented  with  angels.  The  central  arch, 
wider  than  its  companions,  is  crowned  by  a  platform  on  which  a 
gothic  baldaquin  sculptured  in  wood  rises  to  a  great  height,  and 
beneath  this  the  casket  of  holy  relics  used  to  be  shown.     This 


2  78  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

casket,    glittering   with    precious    stones,   dominated    the   whole 
chapel  from  the  summit  of  its  platform." — F.  de  Guilhermy. 

It  is  recorded  that  when  St.  Louis  was  in  Paris,  he 
would  rise  to  pray  three  times  in  the  night,  always  ap- 
proaching the  altar  on  his  knees.  As  an  old  chronicler 
says  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle — "  c'étoit  son  arsenal  contre 
toutes  les  traverses  du  monde." 

Une  femme,  qui  avoit  nom  Sarrette,  et  qui  plaidoit  en  la 
cour  du  roi,  lui  dit  un  jour  :  '  Fi  !  fi  !  devrois-tu  être  roi  de 
France?  moult  mieux  seroit  qu'un  autre  fût  roi  que  toi;  car  tu 
es  roi  tout  seulement  des  frères  Mineurs,  des  frères  Prêcheurs, 
des  prêtres  et  des  clercs.  Grand  dommage  est  que  tu  sois  roi  de 
France,  et  c'est  grand'merveille  que  tu  n'es  bouté  hors  du 
royaume.'  Les  sergents  du  benoît  roi  la  vouloient  battre  et  mettre 
dehors  ;  mais  Loys  défendit  qu'ils  la  touchassent,  et  lui  répondit 
en  souriant  :  *  Certes,  tu  dis  vrai,  je  ne  suis  digne  d'être  roi,  et, 
s'il  avoit  plu  à  notre  Seigneur,  mieux  eût  valu  qu'un  autre  fût 
roi,  qui  mieux  sût  gouverner  le  royaume.'  Et  il  commanda  à 
l'un  de  ses  chambellans  de  donner  de  l'argent  à  cette  femme." — 
Geoffroi  de  Beaulieu. 

The  precious  relies  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle  are  now  in 
the  treasury  of  Notre  Dame.  The  head  of  St.  Louis  had 
been  brought  hither  from  St.  Denis. 

"The  head  of  St.  Louis  is  in  this  church.  It  belonged  to 
the  treasury  of  St.  Denis,  but  King  Philippe  le  Bel  obtained 
license  from  the  pope  that  the  head  and  one  rib  of  Saint  Louis 
might  be  transported  to  the  chapel  in  Paris.  Nevertheless,  not 
to  distress  the  Benedictines  too  much,  who  were  lamenting  their 
loss,  the  lower  jaw  of  the  head  was  left  in  their  treasury. 

"  The  precentor  carries  on  the  end  of  his  staff  an  ancient  head 
of  the  Emperor  Titus,  which,  from  some  slight  resemblance,  has 
been  transformed  into  that  of  St.  Louis.     * 

"Thus  the  Emperor  Titus  is  present  every  day  at  the  office 
in  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  holding  in  one  hand  a  little  cross,  and  in 
the  other  a  crown  of  thorns.  Beyond  peradventure  the  emperor 
never  expected  it  !" — Tableau  de  Paris,  1782. 

Every   year,    at  the   opening   of   the   law  courts,  the 


LA    SAINTR-CHAPELLE  279 

Messe  rouge  or  des  révérences  used  to  be  said  in  the  Sainte 
Chapelle,  and  was  so  called  because  the  members  of 
Parliament  assisted  at  it  in  full  dress,  and  made  reverences 
on  either  side  as  they  advanced  to  the  altar. 

Under  the  kings,  and  afterwards,  as  long  as  the  Palace 
was  the  seat  of  the  Parliament,  the  Sainte  Chapelle  was 
served  by  canons  who  held  their  office  directly  from  the 
pope.  The  treasurer  wore  a  mitre  and  officiated  pontifie- 
ally,  and  is  designated  in  different  deeds  as  ''pape  de  la 
Saijîte  Chapelier  The  first  who  enjoyed  these  preroga- 
tives, celebrated  by  Boileau  in  the  Lutrin,  was  Hugues 
Boileau  (confessor  of  Charles  V.),  a  member  of  the  poet's 
family. 

In  the  court  of  the  palace,  opposite  the  Sainte  Chapelle, 
Boileau  came  to  live,  after  his  father's  death,  in  1657. 

The  Hotel  de  la  Cour  de  Comptes,  built  (1740)  from 
designs  of  Gabriel,  replaces  the  beautiful  renaissance 
Hôtel  des  Comptes,  built  by  Jean  Joconde  under  Louis 
XH.,  and  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1757. 

The  Avenue  de  Constantine  will  lead  us  to  the  Rue  de 
la  Cité  (formerly  Rue  de  la  Lanterne,  de  la  Juiverie,  and 
du  Marché-Palu),  which  crosses  the  island  from  the  Pont 
Notre  Dame  to  the  Petit  Pont.  Neither  of  these  bridges 
is  now  of  the  slightest  interest,  but  in  the  last  century  the 
Pont  Notre  Dame,  built  in  1500,  defended  at  the  ends  by 
tourelles  and  lined  on  either  side  by  quaint  gabled 
houses,  with  open  shops  beneath,  was  especially  pictur- 
esque. One  of  its  bridge-shops  belonged  to  the  famous 
picture-dealer  Gersaint,  and  had  a  sign  painted  and  given 
by  Watteau.  Close  to  the  bridge,  and  by  the  spot  where 
the  ancient  Porte  de  la  Cité  stood,  was  the  Prison  de 
Glaucin,  where  St.  Denis,  the  Apostle  of  the  Gauls,  was 
immured.     From  very  early  times  this  cell  was  transformed 


2 So  IVALK'S  /,V  PAAVS 

into  an  oratoiy,  and  as  early  as  1015  the  knight  Ansolde 
and  his  wife  Rotrude  founded  a  convent  of  secular  canons 
opposite  it,  in  honor  of  Mojiskur  Saint  Dcfiis.  The 
oratoiy,  under  various  names,  St.  Catherine,  St.  Denis  de 
la  Chartre,  and  St.  Symphorien,  existed  till  1704,  when 
the  building  was  given  to  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke.  The 
conventual  church  contained,  till  its  demolition  in  18 10, 
a  group  by  Michel  Anguier  representing  St.  Denis  in 
prison  receiving  the  sacrament  from  the  Saviour  himself, 
and  over  the  portal  was  inscribed,  "  Icy  est  la  chartre  en 
laquelle  saint  Denis  fut  mis  prisonnier.  011  notre  Sauveur 
Jésus  le  \'isita  et  lui  bailla  son  pre'cieux  corps  et  sang.  Il 
y  a  grand  pardon  pour  toutes  personnes  qui  visiteront  ce 
saint  lieu."  The  site  of  St.  Denis  de  la  Chartre  is  now 
covered  by  the  new  wing  of  the  Hôtel  Dieu. 

The  street  which  opened  opposite  St.  Denis  first  bcre 
the  name  of  Micra  Madiana — the  little  Midian — from  its 
Jewish  inhabitants.  It  was  afterwards  called  Rue  de  la 
Pelleterie,  from  the  trade  which  at  one  time  almost  exclu- 
sively occupied  it.  At  the  end  of  the  street  was  the  church 
of  St.  Barthe'lemy.  which  served  as  a  chapel  to  the  palace 
of  the  Merovingian  kings,  and  which  Hugues  Capet  en- 
dowed with  the  relics  of  St.  Magloire,  Bishop  of  Dol.  It 
became  a  parish  church  in  1140  ;  its  rebuilding  in  the  style 
of  Louis  XVI.  was  begun  in  1775,  but  it  was  unfinished  at 
the  Revolution,  when  it  was  totally  destroyed,  together 
with  the  neighboring  church  of  St.  Pierre  des  Arcis  and 
that  of  St.  Croix,  which  had  become  parochial  in  1134. 

On  the  right  of  the  broad  avenue  Constantine,  which 
leads  from  the  Palais  de  Justice,  across  the  centre  of  the 
island,  to  the  Rue  de  la  Cite',  on  the  site  now  occupied  by 
the  great  Caserne  de  la  Cite,  was  the  Ceinture  St.  Eloi. 
This  contained  the  vast  monastery  of  St.  Eloi,  which  the 


LA    CEINTURE    ST.    A  LOI  281 

sainted  goldsmith  founded  in  a  house  facing  the  palace 
that  he  had  received  from  Dagobert,  and  placed  under  the 
government  of  St.  Aure,  who  died  there  of  the  plague  in 
October,  666,  with  160  of  her  nuns.  In  the  monastic 
church,  Philippe  de  Villette,  abbot  of  St.  Denis,  escaped 
from  the  terrible  massacre  by  the  Burgundians,  by  clinging 
to  the  altar,  dressed  in  his  pontifical  robes,  and  with  the 
Host  in  his  hands.  The  monastery  of  St.  Eloi  was  be- 
stowed in  1629  upon  the  Barnabites,  for  whom  its  church 
was  rebuilt  in  1703.  Church  and  monastery  were  alike 
destroyed  in  1859  to  build  the  barrack.  At  the  entrance 
of  the  precincts  of  St.  Eloi,  opposite  the  palace,  at  the 
angle  of  the  Rue  de  la  Vieille  Draperie  and  de  la  Baril- 
lerie,  stood,  till  1605,  a  pyramidal  monument,  marking  the 
site  of  the  paternal  home  of  the  nineteen-years-old  student, 
Jean  Chastel,  razed  to  the  ground  by  decree  of  Parliament, 
after  he  had  been  persuaded  by  the  Jesuits  to  his  attack 
upon  Henri  IV.  (Dec.  27,  1594),  whom  he  only  succeeded 
in  wounding  in  the  upper  lip.  The  site  was  afterwards  oc- 
cupied by  the  Fontaine  du  Palais,  inscribed — 

"  Hie,  ubi  manabant  sacri  monumenta  furoris, 
Eluit  infandum  Miroris  unda  scelus." 

The  street  which  ran  along  the  side  of  the  northern 
walls  of  St.  Eloi  was  called,  from  its  inhabitants,  the  Rue 
de  la  Draperie.  Opposite  where  it  fell  into  the  Rue  de  la 
Juiverie,  as  the  second  part  of  the  Rue  de  la  Cité  was  for- 
merly called,  stood  the  church  of  La  Madeleine,  into 
which  a  Jewish  synagogue  was  converted  in  the  reign  of 
Philippe  Auguste,  and  which  consequently  observed  the 
custom  of  reciting  the  office  of  Good  Friday  upon  ever}' 
Friday  in  Lent  to  the  intention  of  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews.     From  the   XHL  c.  the  curé  of  La  Madeleine  bore 


282  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  title  of  arch-priest,  which  secured  him  a  supremacy 
over  all  other  curés  of  the  diocese  :  the  Uttle  church  was 
also  the  seat  of  the  oldest  of  Parisian  confraternities — la 
grande  confrérie  de  Notre  Dame  aux  seigneurs,  prêtres,  et 
bourgeois  de  Paris,  which  had  the  archbishop  for  its  abbot 
and  the  president  of  Parliament  for  its  dean,  and  pos- 
sessed 25,000  livres  of  rental.  La  Madeleine  was  sold 
and  pulled  down  at  the  Revolution,  but  a  pretty  side  door 
belonging  to  it,  which  opened,  from  15 12,  upon  the  Rue 
de  Licorne,  continued  in  existence  here  till  1843,  when,  on 
the  opening  of  the  Rue  de  Constantine,  it  was  adapted  to 
the  presbytery  of  St  Severin.  Opposite  la  Madeleine  was 
the  famous  tavern  of  the  Pomme  de  Pin,  the  great  resort 
of  XVI.  c.  and  XVIL  c.  wits,  which  Rabelais  counted 
amongst  "  les  tabernes  méritoires  où  cauponisoient  joyeuse- 
ment les  escholiers  de  Lutèce,"  and  of  which  Régnier 
writes — 

"  Où  maints  rubis  balais,  tous  rougissants  de  vin, 
Montraient  un  Hac  itur  k  la  Pomme  de  Pin." — Sat.  x. 

A  little  farther  down  the  Rue  de  la  Juiverie  on  the 
western  side,  was  the  Halle  de  Beauce,  a  corn  exchange, 
which  existed  from  immemorial  times  till  the  XVL  c. 
Beyond  this  the  Rue  de  la  Calandre  opened  westwards, 
and  here,  in  the  "  Maison  du  Paradis,"  St.  Marcel,  Bishop 
of  Paris,  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  the  VI.  c,  in  honor 
of  which,  on  Ascension  Day,  the  chapter  of  Notre  Dame 
visited  it,  in  solemn  procession,  annually.  In  the  Rue  de 
la  Calandre,  at  the  house  called  from  its  sign,  du  Grand 
Coq,  Théophraste  Renaudot,  in  1630,  printed  the  first  Pa- 
risian newspaper,  La  Gazette  de  France. 

"  Théophrastus  Renaudot,  a  physician  of  Paris,  gathered 
news  from  all  quarters  to  amuse  his  patients  ;  he  soon  found 
himself  more  in  the  fashion  than  his  brethren,  but  as  a  whole  city 


RUE  DE  LA    CITÉ  283 

is  not  sick,  and  does  not  fancy  itself  so,  he  reflected,  after  some 
years,  tJiat  he  could  make  a  very  considerable  income  by  giving 
every  week  to  the  public  some  fly-sheets  containing  the  news  of 
different  countries.  He  needed  a  license,  and  obtained  one,  cum 
ptivilegio,  in  1632.  Such  flying  sheets  had  been  thought  of  long 
before  in  Venice,  and  were  c?i\\eé.  gazettes,  because,  tma  gazetta,  a 
small  piece  of  money,  was  paid  for  reading  them.  This  is  the 
origin  of  our  gazettes  and  their  name." — Saint-Foix,  "  Essais  hist, 
sur  Paris  "  1776. 

Beyond  the  opening  of  the  Rue  de  la  Calandre,  the 
Rue  de  la  Cité  was  called  Rue  du  Marché  Palu  {paie  or 
raised).  Here,  on  the  right,  beyond  the  Grande  Orberie 
(Herberie,  afterwards  the  Marché  Neuf,  destroyed  i860), 
stood  the  ancient  basilica  of  St.  Germain  le  Vieux,  founded 
by  Chilperic  after  the  death  of  St.  Germain,  bishop  of 
Paris,  in  the  hope  of  eventually  endowing  it  with  the  body 
of  that  prelate,  provisionally  buried  in  the  abbey  of  St. 
Vincent,  afterwards  St.  Germain  des  Prés.  The  church 
never  obtained  so  great  a  relic  except  as  a  visitor,  when  it 
was  brought  for  refuge  here  within  the  walls  of  the  Cité, 
from  the  Normans,  but  when  it  was  taken  back  in  peace  to 
the  mainland,  an  arm  was  left  here  in  recognition  of  the 
hospitality  it  had  received.  St.  Germain  le  Vieux  was  sold 
and  entirely  destroyed  at  the  Revolution.  The  space  east 
of  the  Rue  de  la  Cité  is  now  occupied  by  the  huge  build- 
ings of  the  Hôtel  Dieu,  which,  from  the  earliest  times, 
though  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  has  been  the  neighbor  of 
Notre  Dame.  The  ground  now  occupied  by  the  hospital 
was  covered,  till  the  present  century,  by  a  labyrinth  of  little 
streets  and  curious  old  buildings.  Between  the  Rue  de  la 
Lanterne  and  Rue  de  la  Juiverie  (both  now  swallowed  up 
in  the  Rue  de  la  Cité)  the  Rue  des  Marmousets  ran  east- 
wards to  the  Cloister  of  Notre  Dame,  taking  its  name 
from   a  house  described  as  Domus  Marmosetorum,  from 


284  WALirS  IN  PARIS 

the  little  sculptured  figures  on  its  front.  It  had  a  door 
decorated  with  medallion  portraits,  and  an  octagonai  tower 
of  the  XV.  c.  (destroyed  1838).  Another  honse  pointed 
out  in  this  street,  inspired  the  neighbors  with  terror.  It 
was  said  to  have  been  inhabited  by  a  pastry-cook,  who 
made  an  alliance  with  his  next  neighbor,  a  barber.  When 
any  one  entered  the  barber's  room  to  be  shaved,  as  soon  as 
he  was  seated,  a  trap-door  opened  beneath  his  chair,  and 
he  disappeared  into  a  cellar  communicating  with  the  house 
of  the  pastry-cook,  who  served  up  his  flesh  to  his  cus- 
tomers in  little  patties,  which  long  enjoyed  an  extraordi- 
nary popularity  in  Paris.  De  Breul,  who  tells  this  story, 
states  that  the  house  was  razed  to  the  ground,  and  that  it 
was  forbidden  ever  to  build  on  its  site,  but  Jaillot  proves 
that  Pierre  Balut,  counsellor  of  Parliament,  was  permitted 
to  build  on  the  spot  by  letters  patent  of  François  I.  in 
January,  1536.  A  curious  round  tourelle,  with  a  well  at 
its  foot,  belonging  to  the  house  which  was  then  erected, 
stood  till  the  middle  of  the  present  century.  The  first 
street  towards  the  river,  on  the  left  of  the  Rue  des  Mar- 
mousets, was  the  Rue  de  Glatigny,  named  from  a  house 
which  belonged  to  Robert  and  Guillaume  de  Glatigny  in 
1241.  Title  deeds  of  1266  speak  of  houses  in  GlategJiiaco. 
Here  was  the  Val  d'Amour,  and  here,  according  to  Guil- 
lot,  "  Maignent  [demeurent]  dames  au  corps  gent,  folles  de 
leurs  corps."  The  priests  were  forbidden  to  marry,  but,  on 
payment,  were  permitted  to  have  concubines,  till  it  was 
forbidden  at  the  Council  of  Paris  in  12 12.1  Behind  the 
Rue  de  Glatigny,  close  to  the  back  of  St.  Denis  de  la 
Chartre,  was  the  little  church  of  St.  Luc,  where  the  relics 
of  St.  Cloud  were  secured  from  the  English,  from  1428  to 
1443.     Eastward  from  the  Rue  de  Glatigny  ran  the  Haute 

*  See  Dulaure,  ii.  io6. 


RUE   DES    URSINS  285 

and  Basse  Rue  des  Ursins,  part  of  which  still  exists.  In 
the  Rue  Hauie  des  Ursins  (also  called  de  I'Ymage)  stood 
the  old  Hôtel  des  Ursins  with  encorbelled  towers  above 
the  river,  where  Jean  Juvenal  des  Ursins  lived  (1360- 
143 1  ),  who  was  counsellor  to  the  Châtelet,  advocate  to 
Parliament,  provost  of  the  trades,  advocate  and  counsellor 
of  the  king,  and  chancellor  of  the  dauphin.  He  is  repre- 
sented with  his  wife  and  eleven  children  in  a  curious  pict- 
ure, formerly  in  Notre  Dame  and  now  in  the  Louvre,  and 
another  portrait  in  the  Louvre  represents  his  son  Jean 
Guillaume,  Baron  de  Traynel,  Chancellor  of  France  under 
Charles  VH.  and  Louis  XL  It  is  said  that  Racine  re- 
sided for  a  time  at  No.  9.  Rue  Basse  des  Ursins^  of  which 
a  fragment  still  exists.  Close  to  the  end  of  this  street  was 
the  interesting  church  of  St.  Landry,  which,  in  1160,  was 
already  parochial.  It  contained  a  shrine,  enriched,  in 
1418,  by  Pierre  d'Orgemont,  with  some  bones  from  the 
shrine  of  St.  Landry  at  Notre  Dame.  The  Dauvet  family 
restored  the  church  in  the  XV.  c,  and  it  contained  the 
fine  tombs  of  Jehan  Dauvet  (1471)  and  Jehan  Baudran 
(1459)  his  wife,  as  well  as  several  XVIII.  c.  monuments 
to  the  family  of  Boucherat,  and  the  epitaph  of  Pierre  de 
Broussel,  surnamed  '^  patriarche  de  la  Fronde  "  and  "  le 
père  du  peuple,"  who  died  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV. 
Here  also  was  the  mausoleum  of  Catherine  Duchemin, 
wife  of  the  famous  sculptor  François  Girardon,  bearing  a 
beautiful  Pietà  inscribed,  "  Le  sieur  Girardon,  voulant 
consacrer  à  Jésus-Christ  tout  ce  qu'il  peut  avoir  acquis 
d'intelligence  et  de  lumières  dans  son  art,  a  fait  et  donné  à 
l'église  de  Saint-Landry,  cet  ouvrage  au  pied  duquel  il 
repose  dès  premier  Septembre  mdccxv."  St.  Landry,  sold 
in  the  Revolution,  was  occupied  as  a  carpenter's  shop  till 
1829,  when  it  was  pulled  down.     In  the  Rue  St.  Landry 


286  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

lived  the  Councillor  Pierre  Broussel,  famous  as  a  frondeur,  ' 
and  there  he  was  arrested  by  Comminges,  August  26, 
1648.  A  very  curious  account  of  his  seizure  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Mémoires  de  Briemie.  Behind  the  church  of  St. 
Landry,  the  Rue  d'Enfer  ran  parallel  to  the  river,  having 
the  Hôtel  de  Clavigny  on  the  left.  In  its  early  existence 
it  was  called  Rue  Port  St.  Landry,  as  it  led  to  the  only 
point  of  embarkation  at  the  east  end  of  the  island,  the 
spot  where  the  coffin  of  Isabeau  de  Bavière,  who  had  died 
in  the  Hôtel  St.  Paul,  was  embarked  for  St.  Denis,  accom- 
panied by  a  few  servants  only,  after  a  service  in  Notre 
Dame.  On  the  right  of  the  Rue  d'Enfer  was  the  church 
of  St.  Agnan,  founded  {c.  11 18)  by  Archdeacon  Etienne 
de  Garlande,  formerly  Dean  of  St.  Agnan  at  Orleans. 
Here  the  Archdeacon  of  Notre  Dame  found  St.  Bernard 
despairing  at  the  inefficiency  of  his  preaching  in  Paris, 
lamenting  through  a  whole  day  at  the  foot  of  the  humble 
altar,  and  consoled  him  with  his  counsels.  The  church 
was  sold  at  the  Revolution,  but  existed,  divided  into  two 
stories  of  a  warehouse,  till  late  years.  Racine  lived, 
c.  1670,  in  a  house  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rue  d'Enfer. 

Returning  in  imagination  to  the  site  of  St.  Landry,  the 
Rue  du  Chevet  led  under  the  east  end  of  the  church,  to  the 
Rue  St.  Pierre  aux  Bœufs,  on  the  eastern  side  of  which  was 
the  church  of  that  name,  the  especial  church  of  the 
butchers,  mentioned  in  a  bull  of  Innocent  II.  (1136)  as 
Capella  Sancti,  Petri  de  Bobus.  It  was  sold  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, and,  after  long  serving  as  a  wine-cellar,  was  pulled 
down  in  1837,  though  its  picturesque  portal  was  preserved 
and  applied  to  the  western  façade  of  St.  Séverin.  It  was 
in  this  church  that  the  student  Hemon  de  la  Fosse,  con- 
verted to  paganism  by  classical  studies,  attacked  the 
Host  in  1503,  and  proclaimed  the  worship  of  Jupiter,  for 


ST.    PIERRE   AUX  BŒUFS  287 

which  he  had  his  tongue  branded  with  hot  iron,  his  hand 
cut  off,  and  was  finally  burnt  alive.  It  is  said  that  as  an 
expiatory  procession  was  passing  after  this  execution,  two 
cows,  being  led  to  the  butcher,  knelt  before  the  sacrament, 
whence  the  name  of  the  church.  Close  behind  St.  Pierre, 
the  little  church  of  St.  Marine  stood  from  the  XI.  c,  with 
a  parish  of  twenty  houses,  and  a  curé  who  was  chaplain  to 
the  episcopal  prisons.  Sold  at  the  Revolution,  St.  Marine 
was  used  first  as  a  popular  theatre,  then  for  workshops  :  it 
existed  till  recent  times.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rue 
St.  Pierre,  the  Rue  Cocatrix  ran  west,  named  from  the  fief 
of  a  family  which  existed  here  in  the  XIII.  c. 

All  these  sites  are  now  swallowed  up.  Most  of  them 
are  covered  by  the  vast  modern  buildings  of  the  Hotel  Dieu ^ 
the  Maison  Dieu  of  the  middle  ages.  This  is  said  to  have 
originated  in  a  hospital  founded  by  St.  Landry,  and  was 
probably  the  same  which  a  charter  of  829  mentions  under 
the  name  of  St.  Christophe.  But  the  first  building  which 
bore  the  name  of  Hôtel  Dieu,  and  which  stood  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Place  du  Parvis  Notre  Dame,  was  begun  by 
Philippe  Auguste,  who  gave  the  title  of  Salle  St.  Denis  to 
its  first  ward.  To  this,  Queen  Blanche  of  Castille  added 
the  Salle  St.  Thomas,  and  St.  Louis  continued  the  work 
by  building  the  Salle  Jaune,  with  two  attendant  chapels, 
along  the  banks  of  the  river.  After  being  long  neglected 
during  the  hundred  years'  war,  the  Hôtel  Dieu  found  a 
great  benefactor  in  Louis  XL,  who  built  the  beautiful 
gothic  portals  of  the  two  chapels  near  the  Petit  Pont, 
which,  with  the  noble  renaissance  gable  by  their  sides 
belonging  to  the  Salle  du  Le'gat,  were  the  great  feature  of 
the  building  till  the  whole  was  destroyed  by  fire  on 
December  30,  1772,  when  many  of  the  sick  perished,  the 
rest  being  received  by  the  archbishop  in  Notre  Dame.     In 


288  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

its  next  form  the  Hôtel  Dieu  had  no  interest,  except  that 
under  the  peristyle  was  a  statue  of  the  philanthropist 
Montyon,  who  desired  that  his  remains  might  rest  there 
(1838)  in  the  midst  of  the  poor  and  sick.  It  was  in  this 
hospital  that  the  poet  Gilbert  died.  The  whole  of  its 
buildings  were  pulled  down  and  the  present  Hôtel  Dieu, 
built  by  Diet,  was  inaugurated  August  11,  1877. 

More  open  and  airy,  the  island  has  nowhere  lost  more 
in  picturesqueness  than  in  the  opening  out  of  the  Parvis 
Notre  Dame  to  its  present  dimensions,  and  lining  it  on 
the  left  with  a  straight  line  of  buildings  of  featureless 
houses.  The  ancient  Parvis  (paradisus,  the  earthly  para- 
dise— whence  the  great  church,  the  figure  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  was  seen  in  all  its  glory),  the  spot  where  the 
scaffold  was  erected  upon  which  the  Templars  protested 
their  innocence  before  their  execution,  had  been  gradually 
made  narrower  and  surrounded  by  lofty  houses  of  varied 
outline.  On  its  right  was  a  fountain  (destroyed  1748), 
and  in  front  of  this  a  statue  of  unknown  origin  ^  (represent- 
ing a  man  holding  a  book),  which  was  called  by  the  people 
Le  Grand  Jeusneur,  and  became  the  recipient  of  all  the 
satires  of  the  time,  as  the  statue  of  Pasquin  at  Rome. 

"  In  certain  workshops  it  is  still  the  custom  to  send  the 
apprentices  to  borrow  from  the  knife-grinder  a  tvhetstone  for  the 
tongue,  or  buy  at  the  grocer's  a  pennyworth  of  elbow-grease.  In 
years  past  they  never  failed  to  send  the  newcomer  to  M.  Legris, 
le  vendeur  de  gris.  The  novice,  when  he  came  to  the  parvis, 
would  ask  a  passer-by  the  address  of  the  celebrated  tradesman, 
and  this  antiquated  joke  always  provoked  a  laugh." — E.  Drumont, 
"  Paris  à  travers  les  âges.'' 

On  the  south  of  the  Parvis,  where  the  buildings  of  the 
Hôtel    Dieu   now  stand,  stood  the  Hôpital  des    Enfants 

^  The  Abb  '  T.ebœuf  considers  it  to  have  represented  Christ  holding  the  book 
of  the  New  Testament. 


PARVJS  NOTRE   DAME  289 

Trouvés,  having  its  origin  in  a  house  called  La  Couche, 
which  resulted  from  the  preaching  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 
for  the  lescue  of  children  who  used  previously  to  be  openly 
sold,  in  the  Rue  St.  Landry,  for  a  franc  apiece  to  acrobats 
or  professional  beggars.  The  hospital  was  rebuilt  in 
1746-48,  with  a  chapel,  celebrated  for  its  ceiling,  painted 
in  an  imaginary  state  of  ruin,  with  such  power  that  it 
seemed  to  those  below  as  if  it  must  fall  and  crush  them. 
The  second  hospital  swallowed  up  the  church  of  St. 
Geneviève  des  Ardents,  whither  legend  asserted  that  the 
shepherd-patroness  was  wont  to  resort  for  prayer.  The 
dedication  of  Sancta  Genovefa  Parva  commemorated  the 
cure,  as  the  shrine  of  St.  Geneviève  was  carried  by,  of  a 
vast  multitude,  attacked  by  the  terrible  epidemic  called 
des  Ardefits.^  The  hospital  of  the  Enfants  Trouvés  has 
been  recently  demolished  to  expose  the  indifïerent  front 
of  the  southern  division  of  the  Hôtel  Dieu.  The  ugliness 
and  bareness  of  the  hospital,  internal  and  external,  does 
not  contrast  favorably  with  similar  institutions  in  many 
provincial  towns,  notably  Beaune,  Tonnerre,  and  Angers. 

The  metropolitan  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  now  faces 
us  in  all  its  gothic  magnificence.  The  remains  of  an  altar 
of  Jupiter  discovered  in  17 11  indicate  that  a  pagan  temple 
once  occupied  the  site,  where  c.  375,  a  church  dedicated  to 
St.  Stephen,  was  built  under  Prudentius,  eighth  bishop  of 
Paris.  In  528,  through  the  gratitude  of  Childebert— "  le 
nouveau  Melchisedech  "—for  his  recovery  from  sickness  by 
St.  Germain,  another  far  more  rich  and  beautiful  edifice 
arose  by  the  side  of  the  first  church,  and  was  destined  to 
become  ecdesia  parisiaca,  the  cathedral  of  Paris.     Childe- 

»  No  wonder  that  multitudes  died  of  the  mal  des  ardents.  The  cure  pre- 
scribed was  wine  and  holy  water  mingled  with  scrapings  from  a  stone  of  the 
Holj'  Sepulchre,  and  in  which  relics  of  the  saints  had  been  dipped.  See  His- 
toriens de  France^  xi. 


290 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


bert  endowed  it  with  three  estates — at  Chelles-en-Brie,  at 
La  Celle  near  Montereau,  and  at  La  Celle  near  Fréjus, 
which  last  supplied  the  oil  for  its  sacred  ordinances.  The 
new  church  had  not  long  been  finished  when  La  Cité,  in 
which  the  monks  of  St.  Germain  had  taken  refuge  with 
their  treasures,  was  besieged  by  the  Normans,  but  it  was 
successfully  defended  by  Bishop  Gozlin,  who  died  during 
the  siege.  It  is  believed  that  the  substructions  of  this 
church  were  found  during  recent  excavations  in  the  Parvis 


fel^SilJfe. 


NOTRE   DAME. 


Notre  Dame,  and  architectural  fragments  then  discovered 
are  now  preserved  at  the  Palais  des  Thermes. 

The  first  stone  of  a  new  and  much  larger  cathedral  was 
laid  by  Pope  Alexander  IIL  in  1163,  under  Bishop  Mau- 
rice de  Sully:  A fu7idamentis  extrjixit ecdesiam  cui  preerat, 
writes  his  contemporary,  Robert  of  Auxerre.  On  its  first 
altar  Heraclius,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  celebrated  mass. 
The  work  advanced  rapidly.  The  choir  was  finished  in 
1 185,   and  two  years  later   Geoffrey  Plantagenet,   son  of 


NOTRE   DAME  291 

Henry  IL  of  England,  was  buried  in  front  of  the  high 
altar.  A  few  years  later  Isabelle  de  Hainault,  wife  of 
Philippe  Auguste,  was  laid  in  the  same  place.  Early  in  the 
XIII.  c,  under  Bishop  Pierre  de  Nemours,  the  nave, 
towers,  and  façade  were  completed.  It  was  then  that  the 
old  church  of  St.  Etienne,  where  Fredegonde  had  taken 
refuge  with  her  treasures  after  the  murder  of  Chilperic 
(584)  was  pulled  down.  The  south  porch  was  begun,  as  its 
inscription  tells,  by  Jehan  de  Chelles,  master  mason,  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1257,  the  north  portal  about  the  same  time,  and 
the  cathedral  was  finished  by  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
St.  Louis,  whose  funeral  service  was  performed  here. 

In  spite  of  serious  injuries  from  fire,  no  serious  restora- 
tion ruined  the  glory  of  the  cathedral  before  the  XVII.  c. 
But  under  Louis  XIII.  and  Louis  XIV.  the  XIV.  c.  stalls, 
tombs,  roodloft,  the  open  clôture,  and  XII.  c.  windows  of 
the  choir  were  swept  away,  and  in  1771,  to  give  a  freer 
passage  for  processions,  the  central  pillar  of  the  western 
portal  was  removed,  with  the  lower  sculptures  of  its  tym- 
panum. Every  year  after  this  saw  some  destruction  under 
the  name  of  improvement,  till  the  great  Revolution  broke 
out,  when  the  greater  part  of  the  statues  of  the  portals  and 
choir  chapels  were  destroyed,  and  the  cathedral  became  a 
Temple  of  Reason,  Mile  Maillard,  attended  by  her  priest- 
esses— figurantes  de  l'opéra — being  adored  as  Goddess  of 
Reason  à  la  place  du  ci-devant  Saint  Sacrement  !  Since 
1845  the  urgency  of  M.  de  Montalembert  has  led  to  much 
of  these  injuries  being  repaired,  and  to  a  magnificent  res- 
toration of  the  entire  fabric  under  Viollet-le-Duc,  though 
the  whole  has  since  narrowly  escaped  perishing  under  the 
Commune,  when  all  its  chairs  were  piled  up  in  the  choir 
and  set  on  fire,  and  only  the  want  of  air  and  the  damp- 
ness of  the  walls  saved  the  building. 


2^2  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  magnificent  west  façade  consists  of  three  stories. 
The  triple  portal  is  surmounted  by  La  Galerie  des  Rois  (de 
Juda,  as  being  ancestors  of  Notre  Dame) — saved  by  the 
intervention  of  the  astronomer  Dupuis,  when  their  de- 
struction was  ordered  by  the  Municipal  Council  in  1793. 
In  the  second  story  is  a  great  rose-window  flanked  by 
double  windows  enclosed  in  wide-spreading  gothic  arches. 
The  third  story  is  an  open  gallery  of  slender  arches  and 
columns — La  Galerie  de  la  Vierge  :  the  statues  here  are 
modern.^  Four  buttresses  rising  to  the  top  of  the  building 
divide  it  into  equal  parts,  and  also  mark  the  width  of  the 
towers.  They  have  niches  with  statues  representing  Re- 
ligion, Faith,  St.  Denis,  and  St.  Stephen. 

"There  are  assuredly  few  finer  architectural  pages  than  that 
front  of  that  cathedral,  in  which  successively  and  at  once,  the 
three  receding  pointed  gateways  ;  the  decorated  and  indented 
band  of  the  twenty-eight  royal  niches  ;  the  vast  central  circular 
window,  flanked  by  the  two  lateral  ones,  like  the  priest  by  the 
deacon  and  sub-deacon  ;  the  lofty  and  slender  gallery  of  tri- 
foliated  arcades,  supporting  a  heavy  platform  upon  its  light  and 
delicate  columns  ;  and  the  two  dark  and  massive  towers,  with 
their  eaves  of  slate^ — harmonious  parts  of  one  magnificent 
whole — rising  one  above  another  in  five  gigantic  stories — unfold 
themselves  to  the  eye,  in,  combination  unconfused — with  their 
innumerable  details  of  statuar)^  sculpture,  and  carving,  in  pow- 
erful alliance  with  the  grandeur  of  the  whole — a  vast  S3^mphony 
in  stone,  if  we  may  so  express  it — the  colossal  work  of  a  man 
and  of  a  nation — combining  unity  with  complexity,  like  the  Iliads 
and  the  Romanceros  to  which  it  is  a  sister  production — the  pro- 
digious result  of  a  draught  upon  the  whole  resources  of  an  era — 
in  which,  upon  every  stone,  is  seen  displayed  in  a  hundred  varie- 
ties, the  fancy  of  the  workman  disciplined  by  the  genius  of  the 
artist — a  sort  of  human  creation,  in  short,  mighty  and  prolific  as 
the  Divine  Creation,  of  which  it  seems  to  have  caught  the  double 
character — variety  and  eternity." — Victor  Htigo,  ''  Notre  Dame.'" 

1  The  ori2;inal  statue  of  Adam  from  this  gallery,  now  in  the  Magasin  at  St. 
Denis,  is  a  very  interesting  XIV.  c.  work,  and  ought  to  be  in  one  of  the  chapels 
of  Notre  Dame. 

2  These  are  now  unfortunately  removed. 


NOTRE   DAME  293 

The  central  portai — Porte  du  Jugement — recently  re- 
stored from  abominable  mutilations  by  Soufflot,  bears  a 
statue  of  Christ  by  Geoffroy  Dechaume  on  its  dividing 
pillar.  At  the  sides  are  the  Apostles  ;  in  the  medallions 
the  Virtues  and  Vices.  The  tympanum  (the  lower  part 
modern)  and  vaulting  represent  the  Last  Judgment.  It 
was  beneath  this  portal  that  most  of  the  royal  and  other 
great  marriages  have  taken  place.  When  Elizabeth  of 
France,  daughter  of  Henri  II.,  married  Philippe  II.  of 
Spain,  it  is  recorded  that  Eustace  de  Bellay,  Bishop  of 
Paris,  met  her  here,  "  et  se  fit  la  celebration  des  épou- 
sailles audit  portrail,  selon  la  coutume  de  notre  mère  Sainte 
Eglise." 

On  the  left  is  the  Portail  de  la  Vierge. 

"This  doorway  is  a  poem  in  stone.  On  the  plinth  of  the 
central  pier  is  placed  the  image  of  the  Virgin  holding  the  Child  ; 
under  her  feet  she  treads  the  dragon  with  a  woman's  head,  whose 
tail  is  twined  round  the  trunk  of  the  tree  of  knowledge.  Adam 
and  Eve,  at  each  side  of  the  tree,  are  tempted  by  the  Serpent. 
On  the  left  side  of  the  plinth  is  sculptured  the  creation  of  Eve, 
and  on  the  right  the  angel  driving  our  first  parents  from  Paradise. 
A  rich  canopy,  supported  by  two  angels  bearing  thuribles,  sur- 
mounts the  Virgin's  head,  and  terminates  in  a  charming  little 
shrine,  covering  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  litanies  give  to  the  Virgin  the  title  of  Ark  of  the 
Covenant.  Thus  on  this  pier  the  glorification  of  the  mother  of 
God  is  complete.  She  holds  the  Redeemer  in  her  arms  ;  accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures  she  bruises  the  serpent's  head,  and  her 
divine  function  is  symbolized  by  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  On 
the  lintel  of  the  doorway,  divided  into  two  portions  by  the  little 
shrine  that  crowns  the  canopy,  are  sculptured,  on  the  right,  the 
Virgin,  three  prophets  seated,  with  their  heads  covered  by  a  veil, 
holding  a  single  phylactery  with  a  meditative  air  ;  on  the  left, 
three  kings  crowned,  in  the  same  attitude.  These  six  figures  are 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  those  of  that  epoch.  The  presence  of 
the  prophets  is  explained  by  the  announcement  of  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah,  and  the  kings  are  present  at  the  scene  as  ances- 
tors of  the  Virgin.     The  heads  of  these  personages  are  remark- 


294 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


able  by  the  expression  of  meditative  intelligence  which  seems  to 
give  them  life. 

"  The  second  lintel  represents  the  Entombment  of  the  Virgin. 
Two  angels  hold  the  shroud  and  lower  the  corpse  into  a  rich  sar- 
cophagus. Behind  the  tomb  is  Christ  giving  his  benediction  to 
the  body  of  his  mother  ;  around  him  are  the  twelve  Apostles, 
whose  countenances  express  grief.  In  the  upper  t3^mpanum  the 
Virgin  is  seated  on  the  right  of  her  Son,  who  places  on  her  head 
a  crown  brought  by  an  angel.  Two  other  angels,  kneeling  at 
each  side  of  the  throne,  hold  torches.  In  the  four  rows  of  votis- 
sûirs  which  surround  these  bas-reliefs,  are  sculptured  angels,  the 
patriarchs,  the  ro)^al  ancestors  of  the  Virgin  and  the  prophets.  A 
band  covered  by  magnificent  ornaments  terminates  the  voussoirs. 
But  as  if  to  give  greater  amplitude  to  the  final  curve,  a  large 
moulding  in  the  form  of  a  gable  frames  it  in.  This  frame  rests 
on  two  slight  columns. 

"  Eight  statues  adorn  the  sides  of  the  splay,  and  these  figures 
are  thus  arranged.  Beginning  from  the  jamb  on  the  right  of  the 
Virgin,  is  St.  Denis,  carrying  his  head  and  accompanied  by  two 
angels,  then  Constantine.  On  the  opposite  side-piece,  facing 
Constantine,  is  Pope  Sylvester,  then  St.  Geneviève,  St.  Stephen 
and  St.  John  Baptist.  The  statues  are  placed  on  the  little  col- 
umns of  the  lower  arcade  ;  the  tympans  between  the  arches  which 
surmount  these  columns  are  consequently  beneath  the  feet  of  the 
figures.  Each  of  these  tympans  bears  a  sculpture  referring  to  the 
person  above.  Under  Constantine,  two  animals,  a  dog  and  a 
bird,  to  signify  the  triumph  of  Christianity  over  the  Devil  ;  under 
St.  Denis,  the  executioner  with  his  axe  ;  under  the  two  angels, 
a  lion  and  a  monster  bird,  symbols  of  the  powers  which  the  an- 
gels tread  under  foot  ;  under  St.  Sylvester,  the  city  of  Byzan- 
tium ;  under  St.  Geneviève,  a  demon  ;  under  St.  Stephen,  a  Jew 
holding  a  stone  ;  under  St.  John  the  Baptist,  King  Herod.  In 
the  back  of  the  arcade,  under  the  little  pointed  arches,  are  sculp- 
tured in  very  low  relief  scenes  referring  equally  to  the  statues 
above.  Thus,  under  Constantine,  is  a  king  holding  a  banderole, 
and  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  a  woman  veiled  and  crowned,  with  a 
nimbus  around  her  head  and  a  sceptre  in  her  hand.  This  woman 
is  the  Church,  to  whom  the  emperor  does  homage.  Under  the 
angels,  are  the  combats  of  these  spirits  of  light  against  the  re- 
bellious spirits.  Under  St.  Denis,  is  his  martyrdom  ;  under  St. 
Sylvester,  a  pope  conversing  with  a  crowned  personage  ;  under 
St.  Geneviève,  a  woman  blessed  by  a  hand  issuing  from  a  cloud, 


NOTRE   DAME  295 

and  receiving  the  assistance  of  an  angel  ;  under  St.  Stephen,  the 
representation  of  his  martyrdom  ;  under  St.  John  the  Baptist,  the 
executioner  giving  the  head  of  the  Precursor  to  the  daughter  of 
Herodias.  At  the  same  elevation,  on  the  jambs,  are  sculptured 
the  Earth,  represented  by  a  woman  holding  plants  in  her  hand  ; 
the  Sea,  figured  as  a  woman  seated  on  a  fish  and  holding  a  ship. 
The  exterior  jambs  of  the  doorway  are  covered  with  vegetation 
sculptured  with  rare  delicacy  ;  the  trees  and  shrubs  are  evidently 
symbolical  ;  the  oak,  the  beech,  a  pear  tree,  a  chestnut,  a  wild 
rose,  can  be  perfectly  recognized. 

"Thirty-seven  bas-reliefs,  sculptured  on  the  two  faces  of 
each  of  the  jambs  of  the  doorway,  compose  an  almanac  of  stone 
above  the  bas-reliefs  of  the  Earth  and  the  Sea.  They  consist  of 
the  figures  of  the  zodiac  and  the  various  labors  and  occupations 
of  the  year. 

"  In  such  wise  did  the  artists  of  the  beginning  of  the  XIII.  c. 
know  how  to  compose  a  cathedral  portal." —  Viollct-le-Duc,  vii.  421. 

The  portal  on  the  right,  de  St,  Anne  or  de  St.  Marcel, 
is  the  most  ancient  of  the  portals,  and  is  composed,  in  its 
upper  part,  of  fragments  from  that  of  St.  Etienne,  executed 
at  the  expense  of  Etienne  de  Garlande,  who  died  in  1142. 
Other  portions  come  from  the  central  portal  of  the  façade 
begun  by  Bishop  Maurice  de  Sully  (ob.  1196),  who  is  him- 
self represented  amongst  the  sculptures^  together  with 
Louis  VII.  On  the  central  pillar  is  the  statue  of  St.  Mar- 
cel, ninth  bishop  of  Paris  (ob.  436)  ;  it  is  of  early  XIII.  c. 
The  hinges  of  this  door,  magnificent  specimens  of  metal 
work,  are  also  relics  of  St.  Etienne. 

The  beautiful  south  façade  bears,  with  its  date  1257, 
the  name  of  the  only  known  architect  of  Notre  Dame — 
Jean  de  Chelles.  The  portal  of  the  north  transept  is  de- 
voted to  the  history  of  the  Virgin,  and  bears  a  beautiful 
statue  of  her,  with  the  mantle  fastened  under  the  right 
arm.  The  reliefs  give  the  history  of  the  Virgin.  The 
statuettes  of  angels  are  very  charming.^    Beneath  the  third 

1  Lubke. 


296  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

window,  belonging  to  a  choir  chapel  beyond  this  portal,  is 
the  graceful  Forte  Rouge,  a  chef-d'œuvre  early  XIV.  c, 
which  has  a  representation  of  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin 
in  its  tympanum  and  scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Marcel  in 
its  vaulting.  It  takes  its  name  from  its  doors  having  been 
originally  painted  red.  Its  statues  represent  St.  Louis  and 
Marguerite  de  Provence. 

"The  little  Porte  Rouge  attains  almost  the  limits  of  the 
gothic  delicacy  of  the  XV.  c," — Victor  Hugo. 

The  cathedral  spire  is  a  recent  "  restoration  "  by  Viollet- 

le-Duc. 

High  mass  on  Sundays  is  at  9.30  a.m.  ;  Vespers  followed 
by  Benediction,  at  2.30  p.m.  On  Fridays  in  Lent  the  great  relic, 
the  Crown  of  Thorns,  is  exhibited  after  2  r.M.  in  the  choir. 

On  entering  the  church  from  the  sunlit  square  the  ex- 
treme darkness  is  at  first  almost  oppressive,  then  infinitely 
imposing.  The  chief  light  comes  from  above,  from  the 
windows  of  the  clerestory,  which,  in  the  choir,  are  filled 
with  gorgeous  stained  glass.  The  five  aisles,  with  their 
many  pillars,  afford  most  picturesque  cross  views.  In  the 
choir  Henry  VI.  of  England  (1431),  when  only  ten  years 
old,  was  crowned  king  of  France,  The  whole  church, 
now  so  bare  of  historic  memorials,  was  formerly  paved 
with  sepulchral  stones.  The  monuments  included  :  Phi- 
lippe, archdeacon  of  Paris,  son  of  Louis  VI.,  1161  ;  Prince 
Geoffrey  of  England,  1186  ;  Queen  Isabelle  of  Hainault, 
1 189;  Louis  de  France,  dauphin,  son  of  Charles  VI., 
1415  j  Louise  de  Savoie,  mother  of  François  I.  (her  heart), 
1531  ;  Louis  XIII.  (his  entrails),  1643;  Eudes  de  Sully, 
Bishop  of  Paris,  1208;  Bishop  Etienne  IL,  dit  Templier, 
1279;  Cardinal  Aymeric  de  Magnac,  1384;  Bishop  Pierre 
d'Orgemont,  1409  ;  Denis  Dumoulin,  Patriarch  of  Antioch, 
1447  ;  Archbishop    Pierre    de   Marca,    1662  \  Archbishop 


NOTRE   DAME 


297 


Hardouin  de  Pcréfixe,  167 1  ;  Archbishop  François  de  Har- 
lay,  1695  ;  and  Renaud  de  Beaune,  Archbishop  of  Sens, 
1616. 

"The  church  itself — that  vast  edifice — wrapping  her,  as  it 
were,  on  all  sides — protecting  her — saving  her — was  a  sovereign 
tranquillizer.  The  solemn  lines  of  its  architecture  ;  the  religious 
attitude  of  all  the  objects  by  which  the  girl  was  surrounded  ;  the 
pious  and  serene  thoughts  escaping,  as  it  were,  from  every  pore 
of  those  venerable  stones — acted  upon  her  unconsciously  to  her- 
self. The  structure  had  sounds,  too,  of  such  blessedness  and 
such  majesty,  that  they  soothed  that  suffering  spirit.  The  monot- 
onous chant  of  the  performers  of  the  service  ;  the  responses  of 
the  people  to  the  priests,  now  inarticulate,  now  of  thundering 
loudness  ;  the  harmonious  trembling  of  the  casements  ;  the  or- 
gans bursting  forth  like  the  voice  of  a  hundred  trumpets  ;  the 
three  steeples  humming  like  hives  of  enormous  bees — all  that 
orchestra,  over  which  bounded  a  gigantic  gamut,  ascending  and 
descending  incessantly,  from  the  voice  of  a  multitude  to  that  of 
a  bell — lulled  her  memory,  her  imagination,  and  her  sorrow.  The 
bells  especially  had  this  effect.  It  was  as  a  powerful  magnetism 
which  those  vast  machines  poured  in  large  waves  over  her." — 
Victor  Hugo,  "  N'otre  Damey 

The  form  of  the  church  is  a  Latin  cross.  The  central 
aisle  is  of  great  width/  and,  besides  the  chapels,  there  are 
double  side-aisles,  above  which  run  the  immense  galleries 
of  the  triforium,  united  at  the  transept  walls  by  very  nar- 

*  The  length  of  Notre  Dame  is  390  feet  ;  width  at  transepts,  144  feet  ;  height 
of  vaulting,  102  feet  ;  height  of  west  towers,  204  feet  ;  width  of  west  front,  128 
feet  ;  length  of  nave,  225  feet  ;  width  of  nave,  39  feet. 

An  engraved  copper  tablet  hung  against  one  of  the  pillars  formerly  gave 
the  dimensions  of  the  church- 
Si  tu  veux  sçavoir  comme  est  ample, 

De  Nostre-Dame  le  grand  temple, 

Il  y  a,  dans  œuvre,  pour  le  seur, 

Dix  et  sept  toises  de  hauteur, 

Sur  la  largeur  de  vingt-quatre, 

Et  soixante-cinq  sans  rebattre, 

A  de  long  aux  tours  haut  montées 

Trente-quatre  sont  comptées  ; 

Le  tout  fondé  sur  pilotis, 

Aussi  vrai  que  je  te  le  dis. 

De  Brett  l^  "  A  niîquités  de  Par  is. ^^ 


298 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


row  passages.  The  choir  retains  some  of  its  wood  carving, 
executed  under  Louis  XIII.,  from  designs  of  Jean  de 
Goulon.  The  group  called  Le  Vœu  de  Louis  XLLL.,  con- 
sists of  a  Descent  from  the  Cross  by  Nicolas  Coustou. 
The  kneeling  figure  of  Louis  XIII.  is  by  Guillaume  Cous- 
tou, that  of  Louis  XIV.  by  Antoine  Coysevox.  The  tapes- 
tries hung  up  on  festivals  were  given  by  Napoleon  I.  The 
dead  Christ  in  gilt  copper  comes  from  the  chapel  of  the 
Louvois  in  the  Capucines  of  the  Place  Vendôme.  En- 
closing the  west  end  of  the  choir  is  part  of  the  curious 
XIV.  c.  screen,  sculptured  by  Jean  Ravy — a  remnant  of 
that  destroyed  under  Louis  XIV. 

"The  earlier  series  on  the  north  contains  a  crowded  repre- 
sentation of  the  History  of  Christ,  in  an  unbroken  line  from  the 
Annunciation  to  the  Prayer  in  Gethsemane,  These  representa- 
tions are  vividly  conceived,  and  the  style  in  which  they  are  exe- 
cuted breathes  the  spirit  of  the  XIII.  c.  Perhaps  they  belong  to 
the  end  of  that  period  or  the  beginning  of  the  XIV.  c.  The 
reliefs  on  the  south  side  are  different  on  many  points.  They 
continue  the  History  of  Christ,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  was  so 
arranged  that  the  cycle  which  began  at  the  east  passed  along  the 
north  side  to  the  'west  end  of  the  choir,  and  was  continued  on 
the  lectern,  where  the  Passion,  Crucifixion  and  Resurrection 
were  depicted  in  front  of  the  congregation,  concluding  at  the 
south  side  in  a  scene  moving  from  west  to  east.  Of  the  later 
scenes,  the  only  ones  now  in  existence  are  those  which  extend 
from  the  meeting  of  Christ  as  the  Gardener  with  Mary  Magdalen, 
to  the  farewell  to  the  Disciples  after  the  Resurrection,  The 
artist  of  these  later  scenes  left  his  name,  in  an  inscription  that 
has  now  also  disappeared,  as  Jehan  Rav}^  who  for  twenty-six 
years  conducted  the  building  of  Notre  Dame,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  it  was  completed  under  his  nephew,  Master  Jehan  le  Bou- 
teiller,  in  1351.  Master  Ravy  evidently  thought  that  he  could 
improve  upon  his  predecessor's  work  on  the  north  side  ;  for 
while  the  latter  had  formed  the  scenes  into  one  unbroken  series, 
he  divided  into  separate  compartments  by  arcades,  so  that  the 
later  representations,  which  are  still  in  existence,  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  small  columns." — Lubke. 


NOTRE   DAME 


299 


The  chapels  have  been  decorated  in  fresco,  at  great 
expense,  under  Viollet-le-Duc,  rather  to  the  destruction, 
most  will  consider,  of  the  general  harmony  of  the  building. 
We  may  notice  in  the  choir  chapels,  beginning  on  the  right 
(the  south)  — 

Chapelle  St.  Denis.  Statue  of  Archbishop  Affre,  by  Auguste 
de  Bay,  The  Archbishop  is  represented  at  the  moment 
when,  appearing  with  an  olive  branch  on  the  barricade  of 
the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  he  was  struck  by  a  ball,  June 
25,  1848. 

Chapelle  St.  Madeleine.  Kneeling  statue  of  Archbishop  Si- 
bour  (murdered  in  St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  January  8,  1857), 
by  Dubois.  Grave  of  the  papal  nuncio  Garibaldi,  Arch- 
bishop of  Myra,  1853. 

Chapelle  St.  Guillaume.  Statue  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  at- 
tributed to  Bernini.  Mausoleum  of  General  Henri-Charles 
d'Harcourt,  1769,  by  Pigalle — a  singular  work  of  dramatic 
sculpture. 

Chapelle  St.  Georges,  Statue  of  Archbishop  Darboy  (murdered 
by  the  Communists  in  the  prison  of  La  Roquette,  May  27, 
1871),  by  Bonnassieux.  Kneeling  statue  of  Archbishop 
Morlot,  1862,  by  Lescorné. 

La  Chapelle  de  Notre  Dame  des  Sept  Dotdetirs  (north  of  choir) 
contains  a  restored  fresco  (of  XIV.  c.)  of  the  Virgin  and 
Child  throned,  with  St.  Denis  on  the  right,  and  Bishop 
Simon  Matiffas  de  Buci,  who  built  the  first  three  chapels 
on  the  left  of  the  apse,  as  was  told  on  his  monument,  and 
whose  tomb  was  originally  beneath  it. 

Chapelle  St.  Marcel.  Immense  tomb  of  Cardinal  de  Belloy, 
1808,  by  Pierre  Deseine.  Tomb,  with  reclining  figure,  of 
Archbishop  de  Quélen. 

Chapelle  St.  Louis.  Kneeling  statue  of  Archbishop  Louis- 
Antoine  de  Noailles,  1729,  by  de  Chaume. 

Chapelle  St.  Germaifi.  Tomb  of  Archbishop  Leclerc  de  Juigné, 
1811.     A  kneeling  figure  in  relief. 

Chapelle  St.  Ferdinand.  Slab  tomb,  with  medallion,  of  Arch- 
bishop de  Beaumont,  1781. 

Chapelle  St.  Martin.  Tomb  (restored  by  Viollet-le-Duc)  of 
Jean  Baptiste  de  Vardes,  Comte  de  Guébriant,  Marshal  of 
France,  1643,  ^iid  his  wife  Renée  du  Bec-Crespin,  who  was 


300  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

sent  as  ambassadress  extraordinary  to  Poland,  and  died 
1659. 

Behind  the  sanctuary,  moved  from  its  rightful  place,  is  the 
tomb,  with  an  interesting  jewelled  effigy,  of  Archbishop 
MatifFas  de  Buci,  1304. 

Against  a  pillar  at  the  entrance  of  the  choir  on  left  is  a 
statue  of  St.  Denis,  by  Nicolas  Coustou.  Against  the  cor- 
responding pillar  on  the  right  is  a  XIV.  c.  statue  of  the 
Virgin  and  Child. 

"After  the  battle  of  Poitiers,  the  towns-people  of  Paris,  in 
order  to  obtain  relief  from  the  woes  that  afflicted  France,  made  a 
vow  to  present  annually  to  Notre  Dame  a  taper  as  long  as  the 
city.  The  14th  of  August,  1437,  the  Provost  of  the  Merchants  and 
the  échevins  presented  this  offering  to  the  chapter  for  the  first 
time.  When  Paris  had  expanded  and  it  became  difficult  to  find 
a  taper  of  such  dimensions,  the  taper  was  changed  into  a  silver 
lamp,  which  was  to  remain  always  burning,  and  which  Francis 
Morin  carried  in  great  pomp  to  Notre  Dame,  in  1605." — Fat  is  à 
travers  les  âges. 

Among  the  historic  memorials  which  perished  in  the 
Revolution  was  the  equestrian  statue  of  Philippe  le  Bel, 
clothed  in  the  armor  which  he  wore  at  Mons-en-Puelle, 
which  stood  by  the  last  pillar  on  the  right  of  the  nave. 
A  gigantic  St.  Christopher,  destroyed  by  the  chapter  in 
1786,  was  given,  in  1413,  by  Antoine  des  Essarts,  whose 
tomb,  with  its  armed  statue,  stood  near  it.  Tastes  have 
changed,  for  a  famous  traveller  of  the  XVII.  c.  found  St. 
Christopher  the  only  thing  worth  seeing  in  the  church. 

"  I  could  see  no  notable  matter  in  the  cathedrall  church,  sav- 
ing the  statue  of  St.  Christopher  on  the  right  hand  at  the  coming 
in  of  the  great  gate,  which  is  indeed  very  exquisitely  done,  all 
the  rest  being  but  ordinary." — Coryafs  "  Crudities." 

The  realistic  tomb  of  Canon  Jean  Etienne  Yver  (1467) 

still  exists  uninjured.^     The  archbishops  have  been  buried 

^  Other  monuments  belonging  to  Notre  Dame  which  still  exist  and  might 
be  restored  (from  the  Musée  at  Versailles)  with  great  advantage  to  the  interest 
of  the  church,  are  those  of  Jean  Jouvenel  des  Ursins  (1431)  and  his  wife,  Mi- 
chelle de  Vitry  ;  and  of  Maréchal  Albert  de  Gondi,  Due  de  Retz  (1602)  and  his 
brother  Pierre  de  Gondi,  Bishop  of  Paris  (1616). 


NOTRE   DAME  301 

since  171 1,  in  a  vault  under  the  choir;  if  they  are  cardi- 
nals their  hats  are  hung  over  their  coffins. 

The  Treasury  of  Notre  Dame  is  open  from  10  to  4 
(50  c.)  except  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  It  was  despoiled 
at  the  Revolution,  but  a  few  of  the  most  precious  objects 
escaped,  and  others  have  since  been  collected  from  other 
churches.  It  is  approached  through  the  east  arcade  of  a 
little  cloister,  with  stained  glass  representing  the  story  of 
St.  Geneviève.  The  greatest  treasures  of  all,  the  Crown 
of  Thorns  given  to  St.  Louis  and  brought  hither  from  the 
Sainte  Chapelle,  and  the  nail  of  the  True  Cross  which  be- 
longed to  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis,  are  only  exposed  on 
Fridays  in  Lent. 

The  other  treasures  include  the  gold  XII.  c.  cross  of 
the  Emperor  Manuel  Comnenus,  bequeathed  by  Anne  de 
Gonzague  to  St.  Germain  des  Prés  in  1683  ;  the  relic  of 
the  True  Cross  sent  to  Galon,  bishop  of  Paris,  in  1109  ; 
the  cross,  in  wood  and  copper,  of  Bishop  Eudes  de  Sully  ; 
the  discipline  of  St.  Louis  ;  the  crucifix  which  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  held  over  Louis  XIII.  when  he  was  dying  ;  the 
coronation  mantle  of  Napoleon  I.  and  the  chasuble  which 
Pius  VII.  wore  at  the  coronation  ;  chasubles  embroidered 
in  XV.  c.  and  XVI.  c.  ;  the  pastoral  cross  of  Archbishop 
Affre  ;  the  dress  worn  by  Archbishops  Affre,  Sibour,  and 
Darboy  in  their  last  moments,  with  the  marks  left  by  the 
instruments  of  their  death  ;  the  magnificent  silver  image 
of  the  Virgin  and  Child  given  by  Charles  X.  (1821)  ;  the 
ostensoir  given  by  Napoleon  L,  and  many  magnificent 
church  vestments  and  services  of  church  plate  presented 
by  Napoleon  I.  and  III.  on  occasion  of  marriages,  bap- 
tisms, &c.  On  the  walls  of  the  treasury  are  full-length 
portraits  of  Archbishops  de  Quélen  and  Sibour. 

The  Chapter  House,  with  the  throne  where  the  arch- 


302 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


bishop  presides  every  month  at  a  council,  contains  a 
portait  of  Archbishop  Affre  and  a  picture  of  his  death 
upon  the  barricade  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine.  An 
armoire,  adorned  with  paintings  of  the  hfe  of  St.  Louis, 
contains  a  precious  rehquary  of  St.  Louis  ;  other  rehquaries 
of  XIIL  c,  and  XIV.  c.  ;  rehquaries  of  XV.  c,  support- 
ing busts  of  St.  Louis  and  St.  Denis  j  and  a  massive 
ostensoir  given  by  Napoleon  L,  who  also  presented  the 
great  paschal  candlestick  of  the  church. 

The  most  magnificent  scene  ever  witnessed  in  Notre 
Dame  was  the  coronation  of  Napoleon  I.  and  Josephine, 
at  an  expense  of  eighty-five  million  francs. 


"  What  soul  can  ever  have  forgotten  such  a  day?  I  have  seen 
Notre  Dame  since  that  time,  I  have  seen  it  in  sumptuous  and 
solemn  feast-days,  but  nothing  has  ever  recalled  the  impression 
made  on  the  eye  by  the  coronation  of  Napoleon.  The  vaulted 
roof,  with  its  gothic  arches,  and  its  illuminated  windows,  echoed 
to  the  sacred  chant  of  the  priests,  invoking  the  blessings  of  the 
Most  High  on  the  ceremony  to  be  performed,  and  waiting  for  the 
Vicar  of  Christ,  whose  throne  was  prepared  near  the  altar.  Along 
the  old  walls,  covered  by  magnificent  tapestry,  were  ranged  in 
order  all  the  great  bodies  of  the  States,  the  deputies  from  all  the 
towns,  all  France  indeed,  who  by  her  representatives  uttered  her 
vows  to  bring  down  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  the  head  on  which 
she  was  placing  the  crown.  There  thousands  of  floating  plumes 
shadowing  the  hats  of  senators,  councillors  of  State,  and  tribunes  ; 
here  courts  of  justice,  with  their  costume  rich  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  severe  ;  there  uniforms  glittering  with  gold,  the  clergy 
in  all  their  pomp,  and  away  in  the  galleries,  above  the  nave  and 
choir,  young  women,  beautiful,  sparkling  with  jewels,  and 
dressed  at  the  same  time  with  that  elegance  which  is  peculiarly 
our  own,  formed  a  ravishing  garland  to  contemplate. 

"The  Pope  was  the  first  to  arrive.  As  he  entered  the  cathe- 
dral, the  clergy  intoned  the  Tti  es  Pctriis,  and  the  solemn  and 
religious  strain  made  a  profound  impression  on  the  audience. 
Pius  Vn.  advanced  from  the  back  of  the  church  with  an  air  at 
once  majestic  and  humble.     We  saw  he  was  our  sovereign,  but 


NOTRE   DAME 


303 


that  in  his  heart  he  recognized  himself  as  the  humble  subject  of 
him  whose  throne  was  the  cross. 

"The  moment  that  perhaps  attracted  most  glances  to  the 
steps  of  the  altar  was  when  Josephine  received  from  the  emperor 
the  crown,  and  was  solemnly  consecrated  Empress  of  the  French, 
When  it  was  time  for  her  to  appear  actively  in  the  great  drama, 
the  empress  descended  from  the  throne  and  advanced  to  the 
altar,  where  the  emperor  was  waiting  for  her,  followed  by  her 
ladies  of  honor  and  in  waiting,  and  having  her  mantle  borne  by 
the  Princess  Caroline,  the  Princess  Julie,  the  Princess  Eliza,  and 
the  Princess  Louise.  I  have  had  the  honor  of  being  presented  to 
many  real  princesses,  as  they  say  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain, 
and  I  must  say,  in  all  truth,  that  I  never  saw  one  so  imposing  as 
Josephine.  She  was  elegance  and  majesty  combined  ;  and  when 
she  once  had  her  court  train  behind  her,  there  was  no  trace  of 
the  rather  frivolous  woman  of  the  world  ;  she  suited  the  part  at 
all  points,  and  no  queen  ever  throned  it  better  without  having 
learned  the  lesson. 

"I  saw  all  that  I  am  just  saying  in  the  eyes  of  Napoleon. 
He  rejoiced  as  he  saw  the  empress  advancing  towards  him,  and 
when  she  knelt,  .  .  .  when  the  tears  she  could  not  restrain  rolled 
over  the  clasped  hands,  which  she  raised  rather  to  him  than  to 
God,  in  that  moment  when  Napoleon,  or  rather  Bonaparte,  was 
in  her  eyes  a  real  Providence,  then  there  passed  between  these 
two  beings  one  of  those  fleeting  minutes,  unique  in  a  life,  which 
fill  up  the  void  of  many  years.  The  emperor  displayed  perfect 
grace  in  the  least  of  the  actions  he  had  to  perform  during  the 
ceremony  ;  especially  so  when  he  had  to  crown  the  empress.  This 
had  to  be  done  by  the  emperor,  who,  after  having  received  the 
small  crown,  closed  and  surmounted  by  a  cross, which  he  was  to 
place  on  Josephine's  head,  had  first  to  place  it  on  his  own,  and 
then  on  that  of  the  empress.  He  executed  these  two  movements 
with  a  graceful  slowness  which  was  quite  remarkable.  But  when 
he  was  at  the  moment  of  crowning  her  who  was,  according  to  a 
fixed  opinion,  his  lucky  star,  he  was  playful,  if  I  may  say  so. 
He  arranged  the  little  crown  which  surmounted  the  diadem, 
diamond-wise,  placed  it,  displaced  it,  replaced  it  again  ;  it  seemed 
as  if  he  wished  to  promise  her  that  the  crown  should  be  light 
and  easy." — Mémoires  de  la  Duchesse  iVAbrantcs. 

In  later  times,  the  most  magnificent  ceremonials  at 
Notre  Dame  have  been  the  marriage  of  Napoleon  III.  to 


304 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


the  Comtesse    Eugénie  de  Teba,  January  29,  1853,  and 
the  baptism  of  the  Prince  Imperial. 

Those  miss  a  great  sight  who  do  not  ascend  the  Towers 
of  Notre  Dame.  The  entrance  (40  c.)  is  on  the  north  side 
of  the  north  tower,  left  of  portal.  The  staircase  is  easy. 
On  the  first  landing  is  a  large  chamber,  containing  the 


STAIRCASE   AT    NOTRE    DAME. 


admirable  little  spiral  staircase  (giving  access  to  the 
roofs)  of  which  we  give  an  illustration.  A  gallery,  with  a 
glorious  view,  runs  round  the  final  base  of  the  towers  and 
across  the  west  façade.  It  is  worth  while  to  have  accom- 
plished the  ascent  if  only  to  make  the  acquaintance  of 
the  extraordinary  population  of  strange  beasts  and  birds 


TOWERS   OF  NOTRE  DAME 


305 


which  guard  the  parapet.     Two  hundred  and  ninety-seven 

steps  have  to  be  mounted  before  reaching  the  summit  of 

the  south  tower,  223  feet  in  height. 

"  It  is  a  magnificent  and  captivating  spectacle  to  look  down 
upon  Paris  from  the  summit  of  the  towers  of  Notre  Dame,  in  the 
fresh  light  of  a  summer  dawn.  The  day  might  be  one  of  the 
early  ones  of  July.  The  sky  was  perfectly  serene,  A  few 
lingering  stars  were  fading  away  in  diflferent  directions,  and  east- 
ward there  was  one  very  brilliant,  in  the  lightest  part  of  the 
heavens.     The  sun  was  on  the  point  of  making  his  appearance. 


LES  CHIMÈRES   DE   NOTRE   DAME. 

Paris  was  beginning  to  stir.  A  very  white,  pure  light  showed 
vividly  to  the  eye  the  endless  varieties  of  outline  which  its  build- 
ings presented  on  the  east,  while  the  giant  shadows  of  the  steeples 
traversed  building  after  building  from  one  end  of  the  great  city 
to  the  other.  Already  voices  and  noises  were  to  be  heard  from 
several  quarters  of  the  town.  Here  was  heard  the  stroke  of  a 
bell — there  that  of  a  hammer — and  there  again  the  complicated 
clatter  of  a  dray  in  motion.  Already  the  smoke  from  some  of 
the  chimneys  was  escaping  scatteredly  over  all  that  surface  of 
roofs,  as  if  through  the  fissures  of  some  vast  sulphur-work.  The 
river,  whose  waters  are  rippled  by  the  piers  of  so  many  bridges 


3o6 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


and  the  points  of  so  many  islands,  was  wavering  in  folds  of 
silver.  Around  the  town,  outside  the  ramparts,  the  view  was 
lost  in  a  great  circle  of  fleecy  vapors,  through  which  were  indis- 
tinctly discernible  the  dim  line  of  the  plains  and  the  graceful 
swelling  of  the  heights.  All  sorts  of  floating  sounds  were 
scattered  over  that  half-awakened  region.  And  eastward,  the 
morning  breeze  was  chasing  across  the  sky  a  few  light  locks 
plucked  from  the  fleecy  mantle  of  the  hills." — Victor  Hugo, 
"  Notre  Dame  de  Paris." 

In  the  south  tower  is  the  great  bell,  *'  le  bourdon  de 
Notre  Dame,"  which  has  announced  all  the  great  French 
victories.  The  famous  "Jacqueline,"  given  in  1400,  was 
named  after  Jacqueline  de  la  Grange,  wife  of  its  donor, 
Jean  de  Montaigu  (brother  of  Bishop  Gérard),  beheaded 
at  the  Halles  in  1409  ;  but  when  recast,  in  1686,  the  bell 
was  called  "  Emmanuel  Louise  Thérèse,"  in  honor  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  his  queen.  A  smaller  bell  shown  here  was 
brought  from  Sebastopol,  and  is  of  Russian  workmanship. 

Notre  Dame  has  always  been  celebrated  for  its 
preachers.  Many  of  the  finest  orations  of  Bossuet  and 
Bourdaloue  were  delivered  here.  Latterly  the  religious 
feelings  of  the  middle  ages  have  seemed  to  be  awakened 
at  Notre  Dame,  when  twelve  thousand  persons  have  lis- 
tened at  once  to  the  preaching  of  the  Dominican  Lacor- 
daire,  grand  and  majestic,  but  free  from  all  mannerism  and 
affectation,  full  of  sympathy,  telling  of  salvation,  not  dam- 
nation ;  when  the  Carmelite  Père  Hyacinthe  has  drawn  an 
immense  audience,  though  rather  appealing  to  the  moral 
and  intellectual  than  the  religious  feelings  ;  or  when  as 
many  as  eight  thousand  have  been  led  to  a  general  com- 
munion by  the  fiery  words  of  the  Jesuit  Père  de  Ravignan. 

Nothing  remains  now  of  the  episcopal  palace,  sacked 
February  14,  183 1,  when,  under  Monseigneur  de  Quélen, 
its  library  of  twenty  thousand  volumes  was  destroyed,  with- 


NOTRE   DAME  307 

out  the  slightest  interference  from  the  government  of  Louis 
Philippe,  who  remained  utterly  impassive  to  the  scenes 
which  were  going  on. 

"The  building,  invaded  by  a  numerous  and  furious  crowd, 
was  a  ruin  at  the  end  of  a  few  minutes.  At  the  same  time,  the 
railings  and  the  banisters  were  torn  up,  the  walls  sapped,  the 
roof  broken,  and  marbles,  woodwork,  glass,  and  furniture  hurled 
out  of  the  windows.  A  troop  of  barbarians  made  a  line  from  the 
library  of  the  palace  to  the  parapet  of  the  quay  ;  books  and  pre- 
cious manuscripts  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  each  hand  in  turn 
tore  them,  and  the  last  flung  them  into  the  river.  All  this  was 
done  amid  Avild  songs  and  frightful  yells.  To  add  to  the  outrage, 
a  drunken  band,  covered  with  filth,  and  dressed  in  priestly  vest- 
ments, formed  a  grotesque  and  sacrilegious  procession  around 
the  enclosure.  In  this  fashion  the  archbishops  of  Paris  were  de- 
prived of  their  ancient  abode." — De  Gtiilhenny,  ''  Itin.  arch,  dc 
Paris." 

"  Persecution  and  assassination  seem,  in  our  hours  of  trouble, 
to  be  the  predestined  lot  of  those  who  occupy  a  see  threatened  by 
such  hate.  Mgr.  de  Quélen  saw  his  archiépiscopal  palace  sacked  ; 
Mgr.  Afïre  was  mortally  wounded  in  a  barricade,  victim  of  his 
heroic  devotion  ;  Mgr.  Sibour  was  stabbed  by  Verger,  and  if 
Mgr.  Marlot  died  in  his  bed,  Mgr.  Darboy  fell  under  the  balls  of 
the  fédérés." — Edouard Drwnont,  "  Faiis  à  travel's  les  âges." 

It  was  in  this  Archevêché  that  the  National  Assembly 
held  its  first  meeting  in  Paris,  after  the  removal  from  Ver- 
sailles. The  Sacristy  now  occupies  the  site  of  the  palace. 
The  archbishop's  garden  occupied  the  site  of  the  hillock 
known,  in  early  times,  as  La  Motte  aux  Papelards,  a  name 
not  inappropriate  during  the  dissolute  life  of  Archbishop 
Harlay. 

Behind  the  cathedral  is  the  Place  Notre  Dame,  with  a 
gothic  fountain  of  1843.  Here,  at  the  end  of  the  garden, 
shuddering  figures  are  always  pressing  against  the  win- 
dows of  a  low,  one-storied  building.  It  is  the  Morgue, 
where  bodies  found  in  the  river  or  streets  are  exposed  for 
recognition  during  three  days.     The  name  Morgue  comes 


3o8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

from  the  old  French  word  for  visage.  Formerly  at  the  en- 
trance of  all  the  prisons  was  a  chamber  called  the  Morgue, 
where,  on  their  arrival,  prisoners  were  detained  for  some 
minutes,  that  their  physiognomies  might  be  well  studied 
for  after-recognition.  The  bodies  are  seen  through  a  glass 
screen,  and  are  kept  constantly  watered  to  impede  decom- 
position. The  clothes  in  which  the  bodies  are  found  are 
removed,  which  is  perhaps  a  reason  why  mistakes  are  fre- 
quently made,  and  people  meet  alive  and  well  the  rela- 
tions whom  they  have  mourned  and  buried,  after  recogniz- 
ing them  at  the  Morgue.  More  than  300  is  the  average 
of  bodies  annually  exposed  here.  Nothing  can  be  more 
appalling  than  the  interior  of  the  Morgue,  where  death  is 
seen  in  its  utmost  horror. 

"  The  populace  is  greedy  of  this  frightful  spectacle,  which  is 
the  most  revolting  that  imagination  can  form." — Tableau  de  Paris, 
1782. 

"The  Morgue  is  'the  lying  in  state'  of  misfortune  and 
crime.  .  .  .  Some  days  of  the  year  the  Morgue  is  too  small,  as  on 
the  day  after  a  riot,  the  day  after  Shrove  Tuesday,  or  the  day  after 
a  national  holiday." — Nodier,  Régnier  et  Champin,  ^' Paris  histo- 
rique.^^ 

"  The  Morgue  is  a  spectacle  within  the  reach  of  every  purse  ; 
be  they  poor  or  rich  who  pass,  they  pay  nothing  for  admission. 
The  door  is  open,  enter  who  will.  Some  amateurs  will  go  out 
of  their  way  not  to  miss  one  of  these  representations  of  death. 
When  the  slabs  are  bare  they  go  away  disappointed,  swindled, 
and  grumbling  between  their  teeth.  When  the  slabs  are  well 
filled,  and  there  is  a  fine  display  of  human  flesh,  visitors  crowd 
it,  and  get  a  cheap  emotion  ;  they  are  appalled,  amused,  applaud 
or  hiss  as  at  a  theatre,  and  retire  satisfied,  with  the  declaration 
that  the  Morgue  is  a  success  that  day." — Zola,  "  Thérèse  Raqtiin." 

Nothing  remains  now  of  Le  Cloître  Notre  Dame,  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  church,  with  its  thirty-seven  ca- 
nonical houses  and  its  famous  episcopal  schools,  in  which 
St.  Anselm  defeated  Roscelin  and  St.  Bernard  combated 


RUE  DU  CLOÎTRE  309 

Abélard.  Here  was  the  earliest  public  library  in  France, 
sold  in  the  last  century.  The  cloister  was  commemorated 
in  the  names  of  the  Rue  du  Cloître  Notre  Dame,  the  Rue 
des  Chanoinesses,  and  Rue  des  Chantres,  the  last  of  the 
ancient  streets  of  the  quarter.  At  the  corner  of  the  latter 
street  and  the  Quai  aux  Fleurs  (formerly  Napoléon),  look- 
ing on  the  ancient  Port  St.  Landry,  Héloïse  lived  with  her 
uncle,  the  Canon  Fulbert.  On  a  house  here  (now  rebuilt) 
was  inscribed — 

'  Abeilard,  Héloïse,  habitèrent  ces  lieux, 
Des  sincères  amans  modèles  précieux.     1118." 

In  No.  7  of  the  destroyed  Rue  du  Cloître,  Racine  and 
Boileau  both  lived  for  a  time.  A  fragment  of  the  Rue  des 
Ursins  still  commemorates  the  famous  hotel  of  that  name. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  du  Cloître  was  the  church  of 
St.  Jean  le  Rond  (destroyed  1748),  which  served  as  the 
Baptistery  of  the  Cathedral.  It  was  on  the  steps  of  St. 
Jean  le  Rond  that  the  celebrated  mathematician  D'Alem- 
bert  was  exposed  as  an  infant  by  his  unnatural  mother,  the 
chanoinesse  Tencin,  and  was  picked  up  by  the  poor  gla- 
zier's wife,  who  brought  him  up,  and  whom  he  ever  after 
regarded  as  his  true  mother,  though  his  own  tried  to 're- 
claim him  when  he  became  famous. 

On  the  second  floor  of  the  last  house  of  the  Quai  de 
l'Horloge,  Jeanne  Marie  Philipon,  afterwards  the  famous 
Mme  Roland,  was  bom,  and  she  has  described  how  she 
lived  on  the  "  pleasant  quays  "  as  a  girl  with  her  grand- 
mother, and  was  accustomed  to  ''  take  the  air  by  the  wind- 
ing course  of  the  river,"  with  her  aunt  Angelica. 

In  the  Rue  Chanoinesse  it  is  said  that  the  epistles  of 
Pliny,  afterwards  published  by  Aldus,  were  found  by  the 
monk  Joconde. 

The  Isle  St  Louis^  which  belonged  to  the  chapter  of 


^lo  WALK'S  IN  PARIS 

Paris,  remained  uninhabited  till  the  XVII.  c.  It  has  still 
much  the  character  which  we  find  given  to  it  in  descrip- 
tions of  the  last  century. 

"This  quarter  seems  to  have  escaped  the  general  corruption 
of  the  town.  The  citizens  watch  each  other,  and  know  their 
neighbors'  habits  ;  a  girl  who  is  imprudent  becomes  an  object  of 
censure,  and  will  never  get  a  husband  in  that  quarter.  Nothing 
gives  a  better  idea  of  a  country  town  of  the  third  order  than  the 
Isle  de  St.  Louis.     It  has  been  well  said — 

"  '  L'habitant  du  Marais  est  étranger  dans  risk.'  " 

Tableau  de  Paris,  1782. 

From  the  entrance  of*  the  Isle  St.  Louis,  Notre  Dame 

looks  especially  grand — 

"  The  view  of  the  apse,  colossal  and  crouching  amid  its  flying 
buttresses,  like  paws  in  repose,  and  dominated  by  the  double 
head  of  its  towers,  above  its  long  monster-like  spire." — Zola, 
"  V  Œuvre  y 

The  Church  of  St.  Louis  eti  Vlsle^  with  a  perforated  stone 
spire,  only  dates  from  1 679-1 721.  It  contains  some  pict- 
ures by  Mignard  and  Lemoine. 

At  the  end  of  the  long  quiet  street  of  St.  Louis  en 
risle,  is  (on  the  left)  a  garden,  shading  the  front  of  the 
Hôtel  Lambert,  magnificently  restored  by  the  Czartoriski 
family.  This  hotel  was  built  in  the  middle  of  the  XVII. 
c,  by  Levau,  for  the  President  Lambert  de  Thorigny,  and 
all  the  great  artists  of  the  time — Lebrun,  Lesueur,  François 
Périer,  and  the  Flemish  sculptor  Van  Obtal — were  em- 
ployed in  its  decorations.  "  C'est  un  hôtel  bâti  par  un  des 
plus  grands  architectes  de  France,  et  peint  par  Lebrun  et 
Lesueur.  C'est  une  maison  faite  pour  un  souverain  qui 
serait  philosophe,"  wrote  Voltaire  to  Frederic  the  Great. 
The  Galerie  de  Lebruft  retains  all  the  decorations  by  that 
great  artist  ;  the  ceiling  represents  the  Marriage  of  Her- 
cules and  Hebe.     Only  a  few  paintings  in  grisaille  remain 


LISLE   ST.    LOUIS  311 

from  the  hand  of  Lesueur,  all  his  larger  works  having  been 
taken  hence  to  the  Louvre.  Voltaire  was  living  here, 
with  Mme  du  Châtelet,  his  "Emilie,"  when  he  planned 
his  Henriade,  having  as  his  chamber  the  room  where 
Lesueur  painted  the  Apollo  and  the  Muses,  now  in  the 
Louvre.  After  Mme  du  Châtelet,  the  financiers  Dupin 
and  Delahaye  resided  here  ;  then,  under  the  empire,  M. 
de  Montalivet,  with  whom  Napoleon  held  here  the  confer- 
ence, in  1815,  in  which  his  cause  was  decided  to  be  hope- 
less. 

No.  29  Quai  de  Bourbon  is  a  fine  old  XVII.  c.  hotel. 
At  No.  17  Quai  d'Anjou  is  the  handsome  Hbtel  Pimodan 
or  de  Lauzun  of  the  XVII.  c.  At  the  point  of  the  island 
is  the  site  once  occupied  by  the  Hôtel  Bretonvilliers. 

The  Po?it  de  la  Toiirnelle  and  the  quay  of  the  same 
name  commemorate  the  tour  or  tournelle  which  joined  the 
Porte  St.  Bernard,  the  first  gate  in  the  walls  of  Philippe 
Auguste.  Hence  a  long  chain  joined  to  a  tower  on  the 
Isle  Notre  Dame,  could  defend,  when  required,  the  passage 
of  the  river. 

It  was  on  the  Isle  St.  Louis  that  the  famous  combat 
took  place,  in  the  presence  of  Charles  V.  and  his  court, 
between  the  dog  of  Montereau  and  the  Chevalier  Macaire, 
whom  the  dog  had  insisted  on  recognizing  as  the  murderer 
of  his  master,  Aubin  de  Montdidier,  and  attacking  where- 
ever  he  met  him. 

"The  lists  were  marked  out  on  the  island,  which  was  then  un- 
inhabited. Macaire  was  armed  with  a  large  club  ;  the  dog  had  a 
barrel  to  retreat  to  and  sally  from.  He  was  let  loose,  and  at 
once  ran  around  his  adversary,  avoiding  his  blows,  threatening 
him  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other,  tiring  him  out,  till  he 
finally  dashed  forward,  seized  him  by  the  throat,  pulled  him 
down,  and  forced  him  to  confess  his  crime  in  the  presence  of^  the 
king  and  all  the  QQ\xx\r—Saint.Foix,  "  Essais  hist,  sur  Paris r 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHIEFLY  IN    THE  FAUBOURG   ST.    MARCEL. 

THE  Faubourg  takes  its  name  from  the  old  collegiate 
church  of  St.  Marcel,  destroyed  in  the  Revolution. 

"In  this  suburb  the  people  are  more  mischievous,  more  in- 
flammable, more  quarrelsome,  and  more  disposed  to  revolt  than 
in  any  other  quarter.  The  police  dread  to  drive  them  to  ex- 
tremities, they  handle  them  delicately,  for  they  are  capable  of 
going  to  the  greatest  excesses." — Tahlemi  de  Paris,  1782. 

From  the  eastern  point  of  the  Isle  St.  Louis  the  Pont 
de  la  Tournelle  leads  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Seine, 
where,  on  the  Quai  de  la  Tournelle  (right),  is  the  Hbtel 
Pimodan  or  Nesmond  of  the  age  of  Henri  IV.  It  was 
built  by  Mme  de  Nesmond,  daughter  of  Mme  de  Mira- 
mion,  who  established  on  the  same  quay  a  nunnery,  which 
gave  it  the  name  of  Quai  des  Miramionnes. 

A  little  to  the  left  is  the  vast  lïalle  aux  Vins,  and  be- 
yond it  is  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  (open  daily  from  1 1  to  7 
in  summer,  11  to  5  in  winter),  the  charming  Botanical 
Garden  of  Paris,  founded  by  Richelieu  at  the  instigation 
of  Labrosse,  physician  to  Louis  XHI. — especially  attract- 
ive to  botanists  from  its  unrivalled  collections  of  wild  and 
herbaceous  plants.  The  peonies,  in  May  and  June,  are 
especially  magnificent.  There  are  many  shady  and  de- 
lightful walks,  in  some  of  which  Boileau  composed  the 
verses^  which  end  in  the  famous  lines — 

^  Fournier,  Paris  démoli. 


JARDIN  DES  PLANTES  313 

"  Mon  cœur,  vous  soupirez  au  nom  de  l'infidèle, 
Avez-vous  oublié  que  vous  ne  l'aimez  plus?" 

"These  solitary  walks  had  always  a  great  charm  for  Bona- 
parte. He  was  more  open  and  confiding,  and  felt  himself  nearer 
the  divinity,  'of  whom,'  he  said,  'a  true  friend  is  the  faithful 
image.'  " — Mémoires  de  la  Duchesse  d^ Abranû s. 

The  Natu7'al  History  Collections^  which  occupy  the  west 
portion  of  the  gardens,  are  open  from  i  to  4,  the  gallery  of 
savage  beasts  being  open  on  Thursdays  only,  when  they 
are  not  to  be  seen  outside. 

During  the  siege  of  Paris  in  1870,  the  elephants  and 
most  of  the  larger  animals  were  sold  and  eaten  up.  Two 
elephants  sold  to  butchers  fetched  27,000  francs,  two 
camels  4,000  francs  ;  but  it  was  not  only  in  the  beasts  of 
its  menagerie  that  the  Jardin  contributed  to  the  public 
sustenance. 

"The  rats  at  Paris  have  certain  favorite  spots.  One  of  their 
beloved  paradises  is  ihe  Ja?-din  des  Fiantes,  where  they  fight  for 
the  food  with  rare  animals  or  birds.  T\i&  Jardin  des  Plantes  was 
a  luckless  abode  for  them  at  this  epoch,  as  the  employés  of  the 
museum  made  hecatombs  of  them  and  ate  them." — U Hérisson. 

Behind  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  is  the  Hospice  de  la 
Pitié,  now  annexed  to  the  Hôtel  Dieu,  originally  founded 
by  Louis  XIII.,  1612.  In  the  Rue  du  Puits  I'Hermite  is 
the  Prison  of  St.  Pélagie,  notorious  from  the  horrors  of  the 
great  Revolution,  and  celebrated  as  the  place  where  Jo- 
sephine de  la  Pagerie,  the  future  empress,  was  iinprisoned 
and  inscribed  her  name  on  the  wall  of  her  cell,  and  where 
Mme  Roland  wrote  her  Memoirs. 

"  I  never  slept  at  Sainte-Pélagie  without  waking  with  a  start. 
I  lived  on  black  bread  and  dirty  water  for  six  daj-s,  and  had  no 
linen  for  over  a  month.  But  what  gave  me  most  suffering  at 
Sainte-Pélagie  was  the  necessity  of  finding  myself  in  contact  with 
a  horrible  coverlet." — Souvenir's  de  A/me  de  Créqtii. 

To  the  east  of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  the  Boulevard  de 


314  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

r Hôpital  leads  to  L'Hospice  de  la  Salpètriere,  built  as  an 
arsenal  by  Louis  XIII.,  and  used  as  a  hospice  for  old  men 
and  women.  The  church — a  Greek  cross  with  an  altar  in 
the  centre  under  an  octagonal  dome — dates  from  1670. 

On  the  right  of  the  Boulevard  de  l'Hôpital,  where  the 
Boulevard  St.  Marcel  branches  off  westwards,  is  the  Marché 
aux  Chez'aiix,  moved  hither  from  the  site  of  the  Hôtel  des 
Tournelles.     Here  Rosa  Bonheur  has  studied. 

The  Boulevard  de  l'Hôpital  leads  into  the  wide  and 
handsome  Botilevard  d'Italie,  which  forms  a  pleasant  drive, 
with  fine  views  over  the  south  of  Paris. 

Following  the  Boulevard  St.  Marcel  for  some  distance, 
we  find  on  the  right  the  Rue  Scipion.  Here  a  house,  at  the 
corner  of  the  Rue  Fer-à-Moulin,  has  a  court  decorated  with 
fine  terra-cotta  medallions.  These  and  the  name  attached 
to  the  street,  are  all  that  remain  of  the  hotel  built  by  the 
rich  Scipion  Sardini,  under  Henri  III. 

The  Boulevard  St.  Marcel  leads  to  (left)  the  Avenue  des 
Gobelins,  on  the  right  of  which  is  the  Manufacture  Générale 
des  Gobelijis,  open  to  the  public  on  Wednesdays  and  Satur- 
days from  12  to  3.  The  work  existed  in  France  long 
before  the  time  of  Gilles  Gobelin,  who  lived  in  the  middle 
of  the  XV.  c.  ;  but  he  acquired  a  fortune  by  the  manufact- 
ure, in  the  art  of  which  he  instructed  all  the  members  of 
his  own  family,  and  henceforth  his  name  was  connected 
with  it.  It  was  long  supposed  that  the  waters  of  the  little 
stream,  Bievre,  which  flows  by  the  establishment,  had 
peculiar  properties  for  the  use  of  dyeing  ;  but  the  stream 
is  now  so  adulterated  that  Seine  water  is  used  instead. 
The  establishment  comprises  a  school,  and  ateliers  for  the 
three  branches  of  the  art — the  dyeing,  the  tapestry,  and 
the  carpet  manufacture  called  Savonnerie,  from  the  house 
at  Chaillot,  to  which  this  part  of  the  industry  was  at  one 


LES   GOBELINS  315 

time  removed.  Much  of  the  old  tapestry  preserved  here 
was  destroyed  by  the  Communists  in  187 1.  The  best 
remaining  pieces  are  of  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  with  two 
of  Louis  XIIL,  and  are  taken  from  the  works  of  eminent 
French  painters— Poussin,  Vouet,  Lebrun,  Mignard,  Le- 
febre,  Rigaud,  Coypel,  Oudry,  Boucher,  &c.  There  are 
a  few  pieces  of  Flemish  and  Florentine  tapestry,  chiefly 
of  XVIL  c.  A  piece  executed  at  Bourges  in  1501  repre- 
sents Louis  XL  raising  the  siege  of  Dole  and  Salins. 

An  average  of  six  inches  square  is  the  daily  task  of  a 
skilled  workman  :  so  that  the  execution  of  the  larger  pieces 
occupies  many  years 

"  Des  Gobelins  l'aiguille  et  la  teinture 
Dans  ces  tapis  surpassent  la  peinture." 

Voltaire,  "  Mondain. ^^ 

"Many  of  the  tapestry  hangings  in  the  old  hotels  of  France 
record  family  pride  and  sense  of  high  antiquity.  On  the  hang- 
ings of  a  room  in  the  hotel  of  the  Comte  de  Croy  is  represented 
a  scene  from  the  deluge,  in  which  a  man  pursues  Noah,  with  the 
words  :  '  Mon  ami,  sauvez  les  papiers  des  Croys.'  On  a  tapestry 
in  the  château  of  the  present  Duc  de  Levis,  the  Virgin  Mary  was 
represented  saying  to  one  of  the  family  who  stood  bare-headed 
before  her  :  '  Mon  cousin,  couvrez-vous,'  who  replies  :  *  Ma 
cousine,  c'est  pour  ma  commodité.'" — Lady  Morgan's  ''France." 

Outside  the  neighboring  Barrière  d'Italie  is  the  suburb 
of  the  Maison  Blanche  (named  from  a  destroyed  house  in 
the  Rue  St.  Hippolyte,  supposed  to  have  belonged  to 
Queen  Blanche),  where  General  Bréa  was  murdered  in 
June,  1848.  A  little  church  marks  the  spot.  The  Avenue 
d'Italie  was  the  scene  of  the  celebrated  massacre  of  the 
Dominicans  of  Arceuil  under  the  Commune,  187 1. 

"They  were  taken  to  the  House  of  Correction,  No.  38  Ave- 
nue d'Italie.  On  the  25th  of  May  they  were  ordered  to  leave. 
The  first  who  advanced  was  Father  Contrault  ;  he  had  not  taken 
three  steps  before  he  was  struck  by  a  ball.     He  raised  his  arms 


3i6 


WALK'S  IN  PARIS 


to  heaven,  and  said,  'Is  it  possible?'  and  fell.  Father  Captier 
turned  to  his  companions,  and  in  a  very  gentle  but  very  firm 
voice  exclaimed,  '  Come,  my  children,  it  is  for  the  sake  of  God  !  ' 
All  rushed  forward  after  him,  and  ran  through  the  fusillade.  It 
was  a  hunt,  not  a  massacre.  The  poor  human  game  ran,  hid  be- 
hind trees,  or  glided  along  the  walls.  In  the  windows  women 
clapped  their  hands,  on  the  foot-paths  men  shook  their  fists  at  the 
unhappy  fugitives,  and  everybody  laughed.  Some  of  them,  more 
active  and  .more  favored  than  the  others,  dashed  into  side  streets 
and  escaped  the  fusillade.  Five  Dominicans  and  seven  em- 
ployés of  the  school  were  shot  down  almost  in  front  of  the 
Chapelle  Bréa." — Maxi/ne  du  Cainp,  ^'  Les  Convulsions  de  Paris  y 

Returning  down  the  Avenue  des  Gobelins,  on  the  right 
is  the  Church  of  St.  Médard,  founded  before  the  XII.  c, 
but  much  altered  and  enlarged  in  the  XVI.  c.  and  XVII. 
c.  It  consists  at  present  of  a  gothic  nave  with  aisles  of  the 
XVI.  c,  and  a  loftier  renaissance  choir.  Olivier  Petru  and 
Pierre  Nicole,  the  theological  writers,  are  buried  in  this 
church,  which  was  besieged,  December  21,  1 561,  by  2,000 
protestants,  who  wished  to  avenge  themselves  on  the 
priests  of  the  church  for  ringing  all  their  bells  to  disturb 
the  service  in  the  neighboring  "temple."  Lebceuf^  nar- 
rates that  in  the  XIV.  c.  or  XV.  c.  a  reclusoir  or  cell  was 
constructed  in  this  church  in  which  a  female  recluse  was 
shut  up  for  the  rest  of  her  days. 

"  A  charming  little  picture  by  Watteau  exhibits  St.  Geneviève 
keeping  sheep,  and  reading  a  volume  of  the  Scriptures  which  lies 
open  upon  her  knee." — Jameson's  "  Sacred  Arty 

In  the  little  churchyard  adjoining,  the  bienheureux 
deacon  Paris  was  buried,  at  whose  grave  numbers  of  en- 
thusiastic Jansenists  came  to  pray  in  1727,  believing  that 
miracles  were  wrought  there,  and  excited  themselves  into 
such  religious  frenzy,  that  as  many  as  800  persons  were 
seen  in  convulsions  together  around  the  tomb.^     The  con- 

*  Hist,  du  dioc.  de  Paris.  "  Naturalisme  des  Convulsions.,  ii. 


ST.    MEDARD 


317 


vulsions  of  St.  Médard  soon  presented  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  instances  of  religious  delirium  ever  known. 

"Like  the  Sibyls  of  antiquity,  when  the  god  possessed  them, 
the  young  women  experienced  violent  agitations  and  made  ex- 
traordinary motions,  and  incredible  leaps  and  jumps.  They  were 
called  the  Jtunpcrs.  Others  who  shouted  or  uttered  strange  cries 
or  imitated  the  barking  of  dogs  or  the  mewing  of  cats,  received 
the  names  of  the  Barkers  or  the  Mewers. 

"  Pretended  cases  of  miraculous  healing  then  appeared  ;  the 
infirm,  cripples,  sufferers  from  all  kinds  of  maladies,  came  to  try 
the  virtue  of  lucky  Paris.     In  September,  1727,  it  is  said,  this 


ST.  MÉDARD. 


tomb  performed  its  first  miracle  on  a  person  named  Lero.  It 
was  followed  by  many  others. 

"  Miracles  were  succeeded  by  prophesies.  The  convulsion- 
ists,  during  the  crisis,  gave  utterance  to  disconnected  words, 
which  were  carefully  collected,  and  formed  into  a  volume  and 
printed  under  the  title  of  Recueil  des  prédictions  inte'ressantes  faites 
^"  1733-     These  pretended  prophets  were  called  seers. 

"  In  August,  1731,  the  convulsions,  without  losing  the  dis- 
tressing and  ridiculous  features  they  presented,  took  a  new  char- 
acter, a  repulsive  character  hitherto  unnoticed.      Cod  changes  his 


3i8 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


ways,  was  the  remark  of  a  partisan  of  these  extravagances  ;  in 
order  to  effect  the  healing  of  the  sick,  God's  will  was  to  make 
them  pass  through  severe  pains  and  extraordinary  and  very  vio- 
lent convulsions. 

"Then  commenced  the  practice  of  what  was  called  in  the 
language  of  the  convulsionists,  the  grands  secours,  les  secours 
meurtriers,  and  the  cemetery  of  St.  Médard  was  converted  into  a 
place  of  torture,  the  '  succorers  '  became  executioners,  and  the 
crises  of  a  real  or  factitious  malady  were  succeeded  by  fits  of 
madness. 

"  The  young  women  convulsionists  asked  for  blows  and  bad 
usage,  and  demanded  punishment  as  a  benefit.  They  wanted  to 
be  beaten,  tortured,  put  to  martyrdom.  It  seemed  as  if  the  ex- 
citement of  the  brain  had  produced  a  total  revolution  in  their 
sensory  system  ;  the  keenest  pain  gave  them  voluptuous  en- 
joyment. 

"  The  '  succorers,'  strong  young  fellows,  struck  them  violent 
blows  of  the  fist  on  their  backs,  chests  or  shoulders,  as  the 
patient  pleased.  The  wretched  girls  asked  their  executioners  for 
still  more  cruel  treatment.  The  '  succorers  '  leaped  on  them  as 
they  lay  extended  on  the  ground,  and  trampled  and  danced  upon 
them  till  they  were  tired." — Dulaurc,  '''Hist,  de  Fans  sous  Louis 

xvr 

The  government  tried  in  vain  to  put  an  end  to  these 
scenes  by  imprisonment  and  other  punishments.  Voltaire 
did  more  to  stop  them  by  his  satire. 

"  Un  grand  tombeau,  sans  ornemens,  sans  art. 
Est  élevé  non  loin  de  Saint-Médard  ; 
L'esprit  divin,  pour  éclairer  la  France, 
Sous  cette  tombe  enferme  sa  puissance. 
L'aveugle  y  court,  et  d'un  pas  chancelant, 
Aux  Quinze-Vingts  retourne  en  tâtonnant. 
Le  boiteux  vient,  clopinant  sur  la  tombe, 
Crie  :  Hosanna  !  saute,  gigotte  et  tombe. 
Le  sourde  approche,  écoute  et  n'entend  rien. 
Tout  aussitôt  de  pauvres  gens  de  bien, 
D'aise  pâmés,  vrais  témoins  du  miracle. 
Du  bon  Paris  baisent  le  tabernacle." — La  Pucelle,  iii. 

At  length,  by  an  ordinance  of  January,  1732,  the  grave- 


RUE   MOUFFETARD  319 

yard  was  closed,  and  the  day  after  a  placard  appeared  on 

the  gates  with  the  epigram — 

"  De  par  le  roi,  défense  à  Dieu 
De  faire  miracle  en  ce  lieu. 

The  convulsions  long  continued  in  other  places  in 
Paris,  leading  to  the  most  horrible  orgies. 

Now  the  churchyard  of  St.  Médard  is  a  charming  little 
garden,  and,  being  in  a  crowded  quarter,  its  many  benches 
are  constantly  filled.  This  and  many  church  gardens  of 
Paris  are  an  example  of  what  might  have  been  done  in 
London,  every  object  of  interest  being  preserved,  every 
inequality  of  ground  made  the  most  of,  and  thickets  of 
shade  planted,  instead  of  the  ground  being  levelled,  di- 
vided by  hideous  straight  asphalte  or  gravel  walks,  and  a 
few  miserable  shrubs  being  considered  as  sufficient. 

The  name  of  the  Rue  Monffetard,  which  leads  north 
from  hence  into  the  quarter  of  the  University,  commemo- 
rates the  Mons  Cetardus  (Mont  Cetard,  MouiTetard).  In 
this  district  considerable  remains  of  a  Roman  cemetery 
have  been  found  during  different  excavations.  Here  also 
was  the  famous  oratory  of  St.  Marcel  of  the  XI.  c.  and 
crypt  of  the  IX.  c,  containing  the  tomb  of  the  saint  upon 
which  Gregory  of  Tours  informs  us  that  Bishop  Ragne- 
mode  in  the  VI.  c.  passed  a  whole  day  in  praying  to  be 
cured  of  ague,  fell  asleep,  and  awoke  quite  well.  After 
the  body  of  St.  Marcel  had  been  moved  to  Notre  Dame  to 
preserve  it  from  the  Normans,  the  pilgrims  to  his  grave 
found  that  filings  from  his  tombstone,  swallowed  in  a  glass 
of  water,  were  as  efiicacious  as  his  relics  had  been.  Pierre 
Lombard,  Bishop  of  Paris,  who  died  1160,  was  buried 
here,  where  the  revolutionists,  who  broke  upon  his  tomb  in 
1793,  saw  his  body  lying  intact,  and  stole  the  jewels  from 
his  pontifical  robes. 


320  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

On  the  east  of  the  Rue  Mouffetard  opens  the  Rue  de 
VEpèe  de  Bois,  where  the  famous  and  beloved  Sœur  Rosa- 
lie lived  as  superior  of  the  house  of  the  Sœurs  de  la  Cha- 
rité, and  where  she  died,  February  6,  1856. 

"Sister  Rosalie  became  the  means  of  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween the  society  and  the  Faubourg  Saint-Marceau.  She  dissi- 
pated the  prejudices  that  existed  against  it,  and  justified  it  by 
making  it  better  known  ;  if  it  was  attacked  in  her  presence  or 
any  reproach  directed  against  it,  she  defended  it  with  spirit,  and 
protested  energetically  against  the  injustice.  .  .  .  Under  all  gov- 
ernments and  down  to  the  day  of  her  death,  Sister  Rosalie  was, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  poor,  the  true  representative  of  all  the  good 
done  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Marceau." — De  Meliat. 

The  Rue  Claude  Bernard  (left)  and  the  Rue  St. 
Jacques  (left)  lead  to  the  grille  (left)  of  the  Val  de  Grâce, 
once  a  Benedictine  abbey,  founded  by  Anne  of  Austria, 
who  promised  a  "  temple  au  seigneur  "  if,  after  twenty-two 
years  of  sterile  married  life,  she  should  give  birth  to  a  son. 
The  birth  of  Louis  XIV.  was  the  supposed  result.  After 
the  suppression  of  the  abbey  at  the  Revolution  its  build- 
ings were  turned  into  a  school  of  medicine  and  a  military 
hospital.  The  rooms  of  Anne  of  Austria  are  preserved — 
the  same  rooms  which  Louis  XII L  and  Cardinal  Richelieu 
ransacked  for  evidence  of  her  political  intrigues  in  1637. 

The  first  stone  of  the  Church  (not  open  before  12)  was 
laid  for  his  mother  by  Louis  XIV.  in  1645,  when  he  was 
seven  years  old.  François  Mansart  was  its  original  archi- 
tect and  began  the  work,  which  was  continued  by  Jacques 
Lemercier  and  completed  by  Pierre  Lemuet,  for  it  was  not 
finished  till  1665.  The  façade  is  inscribed  "  Jesu  nascenti 
Virginique  Matri,"  and  all  the  decorations  of  the  interior 
have  reference  to  the  birth  of  Christ,  in  allusion  to  that  of 
Louis  XIV.  The  dome,  which  has  considerable  beauty, 
and  is  the  most  important  in  Paris  after  the  Pantheon  and 


VAL   DE    GRACE  321 

the  Invalides,  is  covered  witli  paintings  by  Pierre  Mignard, 
representing  Anne  of  Austria  (assisted  by  St.  Louis)  offer- 
ing the  church  to  the  Trinity  in  her  gratitude,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  all  catholic  Christendom,  portrayed  in  two  hundred 
figures.  The  coffered  roof  is  too  rich  for  the  height  of  the 
building. 

The  paintings  in  the  Chapel  of  the  St.  Sacrement  are 
hy  Philippe  3.nd  Jean  Baptiste  de  Cha7npaigne^  the  sculptures 
by  Michel  Auguier.  The  high-altar  is  in  (far-away)  imita- 
tion of  that  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.  Joseph  and  Mary  are 
represented  adoring  the  Infant,  with  the  inscription  "Qui 
creavit  me  requievit  in  tabernaculo  meo."  Henrietta 
Maria,  Queen  of  England,  widow  of  Charles  I.,  and 
daughter  of  Henri  IV.  of  France,  is  buried  here,  and 
hither  the  twent}'-six  hearts  of  royal  persons  buried  at  St. 
Denis  were  carried  with  great  pomp,  attended  by  princes 
and  princesses  of  the  blood.  Hither  the  heart  of  Anne  of 
Austria  herself  was  brought,  soon  after  she  had  carried 
that  of  her  little  granddaughter  Anne-Elizabeth  de  France, 
with  her  own  hands,  to  the  Val  de  Grâce.  The  hearts  of 
three  dauphins — son,  grandson,  and  great-grandson  of 
Louis  XIV. — were  all  brought  hither  in  the  melancholy 
year  of  17 12.  In  the  court  before  the  church  is  a  statue 
of  the  surgeon  Larrey  (i 766-1842),  who  followed  the 
French  armies  in  the  Peninsular  war — one  of  the  last 
works  of  David  d'Angers.  Three  people  were  burnt  alive 
in  the  courtyard  for  upsetting  the  Host  as  it  was  being 
carried  by. 

Opposite  the  hospital,  the  Rue  Val  de  Grâce  leads  to 
the  Rue  d''Enfer^  on  the  site  of  Vauvert,  a  hunting  lodge 
of  the  early  kings. 

"The  Rue  d'Enfer,  where  no  devils  or  ghosts  are  seen  any 
longer,  but  which  leads  to  quarries  much  more  dangerous,  was 


322 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


given  by  St.  Louis  to  the  Chartreux,  to  banish  the  phantoms. 
Since  this  time  no  more  spectres  are  visible,  and  the  said  houses, 
well  peopled,  bring  in  good  sound  cash." — Tableau  de  Paris. 

In  the  Rue  Val  de  Grâce  and  Rue  d'Enfer  was  the 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  des  Carmelites^  built  upon  a  crypt 
in  which  St.  Denis  is  said  to  have  taken  refuge.  A  priory 
called  Notre  Dame  des  Champs  existed  here  and  be- 
longed to  the  Benedictines;  Catherine  d'Orle'ans,  Duchesse 
d'Longue ville,  bought  it  for  Spanish  Carmelites  in  1605, 
The  church  was  adorned  with  the  utmost  magnificence, 


CHAPEL   OF   LES   CARMES. 


the  vault  being  painted  by  Philippe  de  Champaigne,  and 
contained  some  of  the  finest  pictures  in  Paris,  and  a  num- 
ber of  tombs,  including  those  of  Cardinal  de  BéruUe  (15 17) 
and  of  Antoine  Varillas  (1696).  The  crypt  was  of  great 
antiquity  and  was  supposed  to  belong  to  a  temple  of  Mer- 
cury, of  whom  there  was  said  to  be  a  statue  at  the  top  of 
the  gable  of  the  church,  more  probably  intended  for  St. 
Michael.^     It  was  here  that  so  many  of  the  princesses  of 

1  See  Hist,  de  F  Acad,  des  Inscrip.  iii.  300. 


NOTRE  DAME   DES   CARMÉLITES  323 

the  blood  royal  and  other  eminent  persons  were  buried  in 
the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  Regency,  and  Louis  XV. 

Here  Louise  François  de  la  Baume  le  Blanc,  Mlle  de 
la  Vallière,  mistress  of  Louis  XIV.  and  mother  of  the 
Comte  de  Vermandois  and  Princesse  de  Conti,  took  the 
veil,  June  3,  1675,  ^^  ^^^^  thirty-first  year,  as  Sister  Marie 
de  la  Miséricorde. 

"She  performed  this,  like  all  other  actions  of  her  life,  in  a 
noble  and  thoroughly  charming  manner.  She  was  endowed  with 
a  beauty  which  surprised  all  the  world." — Mtne  de  Sévigné. 

"Jan.  1680. — I  was  yesterday  at  the  Grandes  Carmelites  w'lih. 
Mademoiselle.  We  entered  that  sacred  spot.  I  saw  Mme  Stuart 
beautiful  and  content.  I  saw  Mile  d'Epernon,  who  appeared  to 
me  horribly  changed.  But  what  an  angel  appeared  at  last  !  There 
were  in  my  eyes  all  the  charms  we  used  to  see  ;  I  did  not  find  her 
either  pufFy  or  yellow  ;  she  is  not  so  thin  and  is  more  contented  ; 
she  has  the  same  eyes  and  the  same  looks  ;  austerity,  poor  nour- 
ishment and  want  of  sleep,  have  neither  wrinkled  nor  dulled 
them  ;  her  strange  robe  took  nothing  from  her  grace  or  her  air  ;  as 
for  modesty,  it  is  no  greater  than  when  she  brought  the  Princesse 
de  Conti  into  the  world  ;  but  it  is  enough  for  a  Carmelite.  M. 
de  Conti  loves  and  honors  her  tenderly  ;  she  is  his  spiritual  ad- 
viser. In  truth,  this  robe  and  this  retreat  lend  her  great  dignity." 
— Alme  de  Sévigne'. 

Mlle  de  la  Vallière  died  here  in  17 10. 

"  Her  fortune  and  her  shame,  the  modesty,  and  the  goodness 
with  which  she  bore  herself,  the  unalloyed  good  faith  of  her  heart, 
all  that  she  had  done  to  prevent  the  king  from  immortalizing  the 
memory  of  her  weakness  and  sin,  by  recognizing  and  legitimating 
the  children  he  had  by  her,  all  that  she  suffered  from  the  king 
and  Mme  de  Montespan,  her  two  flights  from  the  court,  the  first 
to  the  Benedictines  of  St.  Cloud,  where  the  king  went  personally 
to  have  her  restored,  and  ready  to  order  the  convent  to  be  burned, 
the  second,  to  the  nuns  of  St.  Marie  de  Chaillot,  where  the  king 
sent  M,  de  Lauzun,  his  Captain  of  the  Guards,  with  force  to  storm 
the  convent,  who  brought  her  back  ;  that  touching  and  public 
farewell  to  the  queen  whom  she  had  always  respected  and  striven 
to  spare,  and  the  humble  pardon  which  she  craved  kneeling  at 


22  4  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

her  feet  before  all  the  court,  when  she  left  for  the  Carmelites,  the 
penance  lasting  all  the  days  of  her  life,  far  beyond  the  austerities 
of  the  rule,  her  exact  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  the  house,  the 
continual  recollection  of  her  sin,  her  constant  avoidance  of  all 
intrigues  and  interference  in  any  matter,  these  are  things  which, 
for  the  most  part,  do  not  belong  to  our  time,  any  more  than  the 
faith,  the  strength  and  the  humility  she  exhibited  at  the  death  of 
the  Count  de  Vermandois,  her  son." — St.  Simon,  1710. 

Here  Mme  de  Genlis  describes  "qu'elle  s'était  jete'e 
en  religion'' — really  becoming  a  pensionnaire  at  the  con- 
vent. The  Carmelite  monastery  was  entirely  destroyed  at 
the  Revolution.  But  the  Carmelites  are  now  re-estab- 
lished on  part  of  their  former  site;  though  nothing  re- 
mains of  the  ancient  glories  of  the  church  except  a  mar- 
ble statue  from  the  tomb  of  Cardinal  de  Bérulle,  founder 
of  the  order  in  France,  by  Jacques  Sarazin,  which  was  pre- 
served by  having  been  removed  by  Alexandre  Lenoir. 

In  the  Rue  Nicole  (close  to  No.  19)  between  the 
Rue  Val  de  Grâce  and  the  Boulevard  de  Port  Royal, 
stands,  in  a  courtyard,  a  picturesque  and  neglected  little 
XVII.  c.  chapel,  said  to  be  that  in  which  the  remains  of 
Sister  Louise  formerly  reposed. 

In  the  Rue  d'Enfer  also  was  the  convent  of  the  Char- 
treuse, also  called  Notre  Dame  de  Vauvert,  from  the  lands 
bestowed  upon  it,  demolished  in  the  Revolution.  Its 
church  contained  the  tombs  of  Pierre  de  Navarre,  son  of 
Charles  le  Mauvais  (141 2)  ;  Jean  de  la  Lune,  nephew  of 
the  antipope  Benedict  XIII.  (1414)  ;  Louis  Stuart,  seigneur 
d'Aubigné  (1665  ;  and  Cardinal  Jean  de  Dormans,  Bishop 
of  Beauvais  (1374),  with  a  bronze  statue.  It  was  for  the 
little  cloister  of  this  convent  that  Lesueur  painted  the 
famous  pictures  of  the  life  of  St.  Bruno,  now  in  the 
Louvre.  They  are  now  the  only  relic  of  a  convent  which 
was  founded  by  St.  Louis. 


PORT  ROYAL   DE   PARIS  325 

Till  late  years  a  building  existed  within  the  precincts  of 

the  Chartreuse,  where  the  famous  Calvin  found  a  refuge  in 

1532. 

"The  parliament  ordered  to  its  bar  the  rector  of  the  Uni- 
versity, Nicolas  Cop,  suspected  of  heresy,  and  bade  him  seize  at 
once  a  law  student  who  was  concealed  in  the  Chartreuse.  In 
place  of  arresting  the  young  lawyer,  Cop  warned  him  and  escaped 
with  him.  The  pupil  was  Calvin." — Touc  hard- La  fosse,  ''IIist.de 
Paris." 

Close  by  was  Port  Royal  de  Paris,  formerly  the  Hôtel 
Clagny,  purchased  and  founded  by  Mme  Arnauld,  mother 
of  the  famous  Mère  Angélique,  as  a  succursale  of  the  cele- 
brated abbey  of  Port  Royal  des  Champs  near  Chevreuse, 
of  which  the  original  name  Porrois  was  corrupted  to  Port 
Royal.  The  nuns  were  dispersed  and  the  abbey  seized 
by  the  archbishop  of  Paris  in  the  Jansenist  persecution  of 
1664.  M.  d'Andilly  had  six  daughters  nuns  here  at  the 
time,  and  had  six  sisters,  of  whom  Agnès  and  Eugénie 
were  still  living.  The  famous  Mère  Angélique  had  re- 
moved hither  in  her  last  days  from  Port  Royal  des 
Champs,  and  died  in  the  convent,  aged  seventy,  August  6, 
1 66 1.  During  the  Revolution  the  buildings  of  Port 
Royal  de  Paris  were  used  as  a  military  prison,  called  in 
derisioTi  Port  Libre.  An  alabaster  urn  which  was  much 
venerated  in  the  church  of  Port  Royal  as  having  borne  a 
part  in  the  feast  of  Can  a,  still  exists,  neglected,  in  a  ware- 
house of  one  of  the  museums.^ 

3  k.  outside  the  old  Barrière  de  Fontainebleau  is  the 
great  Hospital  of  Biccfre,  founded  by  Richelieu,  for  old  or 
insane  men,  on  the  site  of  a  palace  which  the  Due  de 
Berry,  uncle    of   Charles   VI.,  built   on  a  spot   formerly 

*  Two  famous  works  of  Philippe  de  Champaigne  in  the  Louvre  come  from 
hence — the  Last  Supper,  and  the  Miraculous  Cure  of  a  Nun,  the  painter's 
daughter. 


326  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

occupied  by  a  castle  which  was  erected  in  1290  by  John, 
Bishop  of  Winchester — of  which  name  Bicetre  is  regarded 
as  a  corruption. 

A  little  south-west  of  Val  de  Grâce  is  the  Observatoire 
(supposed  to  stand  on  the  site  of  the  Château  de  Vauvert, 
which  St.  Louis  gave  to  the  Carthusians),  built  after  the 
ideas  of  Colbert,  and  from  the  designs  of  the  physician 
Perrault  (1667-72). 

It  was  in  the  Allée  de  V  Observatoire^  behind  the  Luxem- 
bourg garden,  that  Marshal  Ney,  Prince  de  la  Moscowa, 
called  "le  brave  des  braves"  by  Napoleon  L,  was  exe- 
cuted for  high  treason,  November  21,  18 15,  because,  when 
in  the  service  of  Louis  XVIII.  (who  had  made  him  a  peer 
of  France),  he  deserted,  with  his  army,  to  Napoleon  after 
his  escape  from  Elba.  A  statue  by  Rude  marks  the  spot 
of  execution. 

"At  nine  in  the  morning,  Ney,  dressed  in  a  blue  frock-coat, 
entered  a  common  hired  coach.  The  Grand  Referendary  accom- 
panied him  to  the  fiacre.  The  Curé  of  St.  Sulpice  was  at  his  side, 
two  officers  of  gendarmerie  sat  on  the  front  seat  of  the  vehicle. 
The  sad  procession  crossed  the  garden  of  the  Luxembourg  by  the 
side  of  the  Observatory.  On  passing  the  railing,  it  turned  to  the 
left  and  halted  fifty  paces  farther  on  beneath  the  wall  of  the 
avenue.  The  carriage  having  stopped,  the  marshal  descended 
briskly,  and,  standing  at  eight  paces  from  the  wall,  said  to  the 
officer,  'Is  it  here,  sir?'  "Yes,  M.  le  Maréchal.'  Then  Ney 
took  off  his  hat  with  his  left  hand,  placed  the  right  on  his  heart, 
and,  addressing  the  soldiers,  cried,  '  Comrades,  take  aim  at  me  !' 
The  officer  gave  the  signal  to  fire,  and  Ney  fell  without  making  a 
movement." — Hist,  de  la  Restauration,  par  tin  homme  d'état. 

"What  is  especially  striking  in  this  horrible  execution  was  its 
gloom  and  the  absence  of  solemnity.  There  was  no  crowd  at  the 
last  moment  ;  it  was  misled,  and  was  at  the  plain  of  Grenelle. 
Michel  Ney,  Marshal  of  France,  Prince  of  the  Moscowa,  Duke  of 
Elchingen,  was  shot  in  a  dumb,  deserted  spot  at  the  foot  of  a  wall 
by  soldiers  in  concealment,  by  order  of  a  government  afraid  of  its 
own  violence," — Loitis  Blanc,  ''Hist,  de  dix  ans." 


LES   CATACOMBES  327 

Just  outside  the  Barrière  d'Enfer,  close  to  the  Observa- 
toire (in  the  garden  of  the  west  octroi  building)  is  the 
principal  entrance  to  the  Catacombs^  formed  out  of  the 
ancient  stone-quarries  which  underlie — about  200  acres — 
a  great  part  of  Paris  between  this  and  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes.  The  sinking  of  these  galleries  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  last  century  made  it  necessary  to  consolidate  them, 
and  gave  rise  to  the  idea  of  using  them  as  cemeteries, 
when  it  became  necessary  to  transport  the  bones  in  the 
Cimetière  des  Innocents  to  some  other  site.  The  cata- 
combs were  solemnly  consecrated,  April  7,  1786,  since 
which  they  have  become  a  vast  ossuary.  Ninety  steps 
lead  down  from  the  level  of  the  Barrière  d'Enfer.  Each 
set  of  bones  has  an  inscription  saying  whence  and  when 
it  was  brought  here,  with  poetical  inscriptions  from  differ- 
ent French  authors.  The  tomb  of  the  poet  Gilbert  bears, 
from  his  last  elegy,  the  words — 

"Au  banquet  de  la  vie,  infortuné  convive, 
J'apparus  un  jour  et  je  meurs  ; 
Je  meurs  !  et  sur  la  tombe  où  lentement  j'arrive, 
Nul  ne  viendra  verser  des  pleurs." 

Several  rooms,  like  chapels,  are  inscribed  "Tombeau  de 
la  Révolution,"  "Tombeau  des  Victimes,"  &c.,  and  contain 
the  victims  of  the  massacre  of  September  2  and  3,  1789. 
At  one  point  is  a  fountain  called  '''  Fontaine  de  la  Samari- 
taine." Amongst  the  coffins  brought  here  was  the  leaden 
one  of  Mme  de  Pompadour,  buried  in  the  vaults  of  the 
Capucines,  April,  1764  ;  but  it  was  destroyed  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. Any  visitor  left  behind  in  the  catacombs  would  soon 
be  devoured  alive  by  rats,  and  accidents  which  have  occur- 
red have  led  to  the  prohibition  of  all  visits,  except  those 
which  take  place  en  masse  three  or  four  times  a  year,  and 
for  which  an  order  has  to  be  obtained  at  the  Hôtel  de  Ville. 


328 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


"All  that  has  lived  in  Paris  sleeps  here,  undistinguishable 
crowds  and  great  men,  canonized  saints,  and  the  victims  of  the 
gibbets  of  Montfaucon  and  the  Grève.  In  this  confused  equality 
of  death  the  Merovingian  kings  keep  eternal  silence  by  the  side 
of  those  massacred  in  September,  1792.  Valois,  Bourbons, 
Orleans  and  Stuarts  here  decay  together,  lost  among  the  ma- 
lingerers of  the  Cour  des  Miracles  and  two  thousand  Protestants 
whom  the  Saint  Bartholomew  sent  to  death." — Nadar. 

On  the  Boulevard  Montparnasse,  which  leads  from  the 
Observatoire  to  the  Invalides,  is  La  Graiide  Chaumière^ 
one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Parisian  dancing  gardens,  where 
strangers  may  look  derrière  les  coulisses  de  la  société.  A  little 
south  of  this,  outside  the  Barrière,  on  the  Boulevard  de 
Montrouge,  is  the  Cimetière  Montparnasse  {du  Sud),  opened 
1824,  on  the  suppression  of  the  Cimetière  Vaugirard. 
Amongst  the  tombs  are  those  of  the  famous  Jesuit  preacher 
Père  de  Ravignan,  the  Père  Gratry,  Edgar  Quinet,  and  the 
artist  Henri  Regnault,  killed  in  the  siege  of  Paris,  January 
19,  187 1,  by  one  of  the  last  shots  fired  under  the  walls, 
and  whose  funeral  was  one  of  the  most  touching  cere- 
monies of  that  time.^  Near  the  entrance  (right),  behind 
the  family  tomb  of  Henri  Martin,  the  historian,  is  a  space 
railed  in  as  the  burial-place  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
amongst  whom  lies  Sœur  Rosalie  (^Rendu),  the  '-mother 
of  the  poor,"  who,  equally  courageous  in  the  dangers  of 
revolutions  and  of  cholera,  as  wise  and  clear-sighted  as 
she  was  simple  and  self-sacrificing,  has  probably  in- 
fluenced a  greater  number  of  persons  for  good  than  any 
woman  of  the  present  century. 

"  The  day  of  the  funeral  was  one  of  those  days  which  are 
never  forgotten  and  which,  in  the  life  of  a  people,  redeem  many 
evil  days.  At  eleven  o'clock,  the  procession  started  from  the 
house  of  mourning  ;  the  clergy  of  St.  Médard,  with  a  large  num- 
ber of  other  ecclesiastics,  marched  at  the  head,  preceded  by  the 

^  Seo  Arthur  Duparc,  Correspondance  de  Henri  Regnault. 


CIMETIj^RE  MONTPARNASSE  329 

cross  ;  the  girls  of  the  school  and  sisterhood  recalled  the  works 
of  their  mother.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  surrounded  the  coffin 
placed  in  the  hearse  of  the  poor,  as  Sister  Rosalie  had  requested, 
in  order  that  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  might  recognize  her  as  one  of 
his  daughters  to  the  very  last  ;  the  city  authorities  and  the  de- 
partment of  charities  of  the  twelfth  arrondissement  followed  ; 
then,  behind  them,  thronged  one  of  those  multitudes  which  can- 
not be  counted  or  described,  of  every  rank,  of  every  age,  of 
every  profession  ;  a  whole  people,  great  and  small,  rich  and 
poor,  scholars  and  workmen,  with  all  that  was  most  illustrious 
and  most  obscure,  all  mingled  and  confounded  together,  express- 
ing in  various  ways  and  different  words,  the  same  regrets  and 
the  same  admiration  ;  all  having  to  thank  for  a  service  or  to 
praise  for  a  noble  action,  her  to  whom  they  came  to  render  the 
last  duties.  It  might  be  said  that  the  sainted  deceased  had  ap- 
pointed her  coffin  as  a  meeting  place  for  all  those  whom  she  had 
visited,  succored  or  counselled  during  the  long  years  of  her 
life,  and  that  she  still  exercised  over  them  the  ascendancy  of  her 
presence  and  her  speech  ;  for  these  men,  coming  from  the  most 
opposite  extremities  of  society,  separated  by  education,  ideas 
and  positions,  who  perhaps  had  never  met  before  except  in  con- 
test, were  united  on  that  day  in  one  and  the  same  thought  and 
one  and  the  same  meditation."— Z>^  Mchtn,  "  Vie  de  la  Sœur 
Rosalie. '' 

Returning  to  the  Rue  St.  Jacques,  which  runs  north 
from  the  Observatoire,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  region  of 
convents.  In  the  Rue  des  Capucins  was  the  Convent  of 
the  Capucins  du  Faubourg  St.  Jacques,  afterwards  turned 
into  the  Hôpital  des  Vènèrie7is,  the  cruelties  of  which  have 
left  a  lasting  impression  at  Paris. 

"They  slept  till  eight  in  the  same  bed,  or  rather  they  lay 
stretched  out  on  the  ground  from  eight  in  the  evening  till  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  then  made  those  who  occupied  the 
bed  get  up,  and  took  their  places.  Twenty  or  twenty-five  beds 
usually  served  two  hundred  patients,  two-thirds  of  whom  died. 
Nor  was  this  all  ;  according  to  the  orders  of  the  management, 
the  patient  had  to  be  chastised  and  whipped  before  and  after 
treatment.  This  horrible  state  of  affairs  lasted  till  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  a  resolution  of  1700  renewed  in  express  terms  the 
order  to  flog  the  patients."— Z)«/azm',  "  Hist,  de  Paris.'* 


33  o  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Side-streets  bear  the  names  of  the  Feuillantines,  Ursu- 
lines.  A  house,  close  to  the  Val  de  Grâce,  now  used  as  a 
school  (Institution  Notre  Dame,  No.  269),  was  the  con- 
vent of  the  Bénédictins  Anglais,  founded  by  Marie  de  Lor- 
raine, Abbess  of  Chelles.  It  was  here  that  the  body  of 
James  IL,  who  died  at  St.  Germain,  remained  for  many 
years  under  a  hearse,  awaiting  sepulture,  in  order  that  his 
bones,  like  those  of  Joseph,  might  accompany  his  children 
when  they  returned  to  the  English  throne,  and  repose  at 
Westminster  in  accordance  with  his  will.  It  was  only  when 
the  hopes  of  the  Stuarts  had  completely  withered  that  the 
king  was  buried  under  a  plain  stone  inscribed,  "Ci-gist 
Jacques  IL,  Roi  de  la  Grande  Bretagne."  By  his  side, 
after  her  death  (in  17 12),  rested  his  daughter  Louisa,  born 
at  St.  Germain.  Queen  Marie  Béatrice  was  buried  at 
Chaillot.     The  bodies  were  lost  at  the  "Revolution. 

The  old  winding  Rue  St.  Jacques  is  here  very  pictur- 
esque, with  a  great  variety  of  roofs  and  dormer  windows. 
This,  one  of  the  oldest  of  Parisian  streets,  is  full  of  move- 
ment and  noise,  but  the  side  streets  in  all  this  quarter  are 
quietude  itself 

"  Silence  reigns  in  the  close-packed  streets  between  the 
dome  of  the  Val  de  Grâce  and  the  dome  of  the  Pantheon,  two 
edifices  which  change  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere  by  impart- 
ing to  it  yellow  tones,  and  darkening  everything  by  the  heavy 
tints  thrown  by  their  cupolas.  There,  the  pavements  are  dry,  the 
gutters  have  neither  mud  nor  water,  and  the  grass  grows  along 
the  walls.  The  most  careless  man  becomes  as  melancholy  as  all 
the  passers-by  ;  the  noise  of  a  carriage  is  an  event,  the  houses 
are  gloomy,  the  walls  are  like  those  of  a  prison.  A  Parisian 
who  loses  his  way  there  would  see  only  boarding-houses  or 
public  Institutions,  want  or  ennui,  youth  compelled  to  work  and 
old  age  that  dies.  No  quarter  of  Paris  is  more  horrible,  nor,  we 
may  say,  less  known." — Balzac,  ''Le  Phe  Goriot.'' 

On  the  left  of  the  Rue  St.  Jacques  we  pass  the  Institu- 


s  T.  JA  CQ  UES  D  U  HA  UT  PAS  33 1 

tion  des  Sourds-Muets^  occupying  the  buildings  of  the  an- 
cient Seminary  of  St.  Magloire.  A  conspicuous  feature 
rising  above  the  courtyard  is  a  magnificent  elm,  of  very 
great  height,  supposed  to  have  been  planted  by  Henri  IV., 
and  to  be  the  oldest  tree  in  Paris.  Massillon  is  said  often 
to  have  sat  reading  at  its  foot. 

Close  by,  is  the  Church  of  St.  Jacques  du  Haut  Pas, 
built  1630-84,  partly  at  the  expense  of  the  Duchesse  de 
Longueville.  During  the  Revolution  it  became  Le  Temple 
de  la  Bienfaisatice.  The  portal  was  designed  by  Daniel 
Gittard.  The  pulpit  comes  from  the  old  church  of  St. 
Benoît.  The  Duchesse  de  Longueville  (the  faithful  friend 
of  the  Port-Royalists),  who  died  April  15,  1679,  is  buried 
in  the  second  chapel  (right),  but  without  a  tomb. 

"The  Duchesse  of  Longueville  died  in  great  devotion,  but 
her  early  life  had  been  gay  and  gallant.  Her  husband  was  Gov- 
ernor of  Normandy  ;  she  had  to  accompany  him  to  his  post,  and 
was  much  chagrined  at  having  to  quit  the  court,  where  she  left 
persons,  one  in  particular,  whom  she  loved  better  than  her  hus- 
band, so  that  time  was  heavy  for  her.  Many  friends  said  to  her, 
'  How  happens  it,  madame,  that  you  let  yourself  suffer  from 
ennui,  as  you  do?  Why  do  you  not  play?'  *I  do  not  like 
gambling,'  she  replied.  '  If  you  would  like  to  hunt,  I  would  find 
the  dogs,'  said  another.  'No,  I  do  not  like  hunting.'  'Would 
you  like  some  work  ?  *  '  No,  I  never  work.'  '  Would  you  like  a 
walk  ?  There  are  pretty  walks  here.'  '  No,  I  do  not  like  to 
walk.'  *  What  do  you  like  then  ?  '  She  replied,  'What  do  you 
want  me  to  say?  I  do  not  like  innocent  pleasures.'" — Corre- 
spondance de  Madame. 

The  gravestone  still  remains  of  M.  de  St.  Cyran,  who 
died  Oct.  11,  1672,  aged  62,  the  founder  of  the  celebrity 
of  Port  Royal,  the  master  of  the  Arnaulds,  Lemaitres, 
Nicole,  and  Pascal. 

On  the  left  is  the  Place  St.  Jacques,  where  Fieschi, 
Pepin  and  Morey,  conspirators  against  Louis  Philippe, 
were  executed  in  1835. 


332  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  Rue  St.  Jacques  has  always  been,  as  it  is  still, 
celebrated  for  its  booksellers'  shops  and  stalls. 

"  The  Via  Jacobaea  is  very  full  of  bookc-sellers  that  have 
faire  shoppes  most  plentifully  furnished  with  bookes." — Coryafs 
"  Crudities,''  l6li. 

Now  we  reach  the  handsome  open  space  in  front  of  the 
Pantheon,  and  all  around  us  are  buildings  famous  in  the 
Pays  Latin^  which  we  must  leave  for  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE     UNIVERSITY— LE    QUARTIER  LATIN. 

THE  University  has  given  its  name  to  the  district  in 
which  most  of  its  teachers  and  scholars  resided,  a 
district  now  outwardly  blended  with  the  surrounding 
streets  and  houses,  but  which  was  once  defined  as  includ- 
ing all  the  space  within  the  wall  of  Philippe  Auguste  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Seine.  This  wall  began  at  the  Pont 
de  la  Tournelle  on  the  east,  skirted  the  Rues  des  Fossés 
St.  Bernard  and  des  Fossés  St.  Victor,  embraced  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Geneviève  (then  the  Jacobin  Convent), 
descended  from  the  Porte  St.  Michel  to  the  Porte  de 
Buci,i  and  ended,  on  the  west,  at  the  Tour  de  Nesle. 
The  name  of  Pays  Latin  was  first  given  to  the  district  by 
Balzac. 

"The  University  of  Paris  had  its  inviolable  privileges,  its 
own  endowments,  government,  laws,  magistrates,  jurisdiction  ;  it 
was  a  state  within  a  state,  a  city  within  a  city,  a  church  within  a 
church.  It  refused  to  admit  within  its  walls  the  sergeants  of  the 
Mayor  of  Paris,  the  apparitors  of  the  Bishop  of  Paris  ;  it  opened 
its  gates  sullenly  and  reluctantly  to  the  king's  officers." — Milinan, 
"Hist,  of  La t m  Christ."  Bk.  xi. 

The  Boulevard  St.  Michel  and  the  Boulevard  St. 
Germain,  the  Rue  des  Ecoles  and  the  Rue  Monge  have 

1  From  Simon  de  Buci,  the  first  to  bear  the  title  of  Premier  Président,  killed 
in  1369. 


334  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

recently  put  old  Old  Paris  to  flight,  by  cutting  into  this 
thickly-packed  quarter,  with  wide  streets  and  featureless 
houses,  destroying  endless  historic  landmarks  in  their 
course.  The  greater  part  of  its  interesting  buildings, 
however,  had  already  disappeared,  either  during  the  Revo- 
lution, or  in  the  great  clearance  made  on  the  building  of 
the  Pantheon.  Yet  a  walk  through  this  quarter  of  the 
"  Civitas  philosophorum  "  will  still  recall  many  historic 
associations  from  the  very  names  which  are  met  on  the 
way,  whilst  here  and  there  a  precious  relic  of  the  past  will 
still  be  found  in  existence. 

A  minute  examination  of  the  Quartier  Latin  will  be  in- 
teresting to  antiquarians,  but  cursory  visitors  will  only  care 
to  see  St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  the  Pantheon,  possibly  the 
Sorbonne,  and  certainly  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny.  In  order  to 
visit  all  the  historic  points,  we  must  not  only  frequently 
retrace  our  steps,  but  penetrate  many  of  the  narrowest 
streets  and  alleys  in  this  part  of  the  town. 

'  '  Do  not  conceive  a  hatred  for  a  whole  quarter  of  Paris,  and  cut 
off  from  your  communion  the  half  of  the  town.  These  young  men 
are  less  graceful,  less  elegant  beyond  question,  than  their  neighbors 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  and  the  pit  of  the  Odéon  is  not  the 
place  where  taste  and  fashion  will  come  to  seek  their  favorites  ; 
but  it  is  from  these  young  men  that  all  the  celebrities  of  the 
epoch  are  recruited  ;  the  bench,  the  bar,  the  sciences  and  the  arts 
belong  to  them  ;  their  days,  sometimes  their  nights,  are  devoted 
to  labor,  and  it  is  thus  that  publicists,  poets,  and  orators  prepare 
themselves  in  silence.  Are  they  to  be  condemned  because  they 
prefer  substance  to  form,  toil  to  idleness,  science  to  pleasure? 
Let  us  condemn  no  one,  and  only  repeat  that  there  are  two  classes 
of  youth  in  France  :  one  enjoys  life,  the  other  employs  it — one 
waits  for  a  future,  the  other  discounts  it.  The  first  is  the  wiser 
beyond  doubt,  but  it  makes  a  very  awkward  bow  !  " — Balzac, 
''Esquisses  Parisiennes." 


Crossing  the  island  by  the  Rue  de  la  Cité,  we  reach 


ST.  JULIEN  LE   PAUVRE  335 

the  Petit  Font,  formerly,  like  many  of  the  bridges,  covered 
with  old  houses,  which  were  only  abolished  here  by  Act  of 
Parliament  in  17 18.  In  one  of  these  houses  on  this  bridge 
lived  Perinet  le  Clerc,  who  opened  the  gates  of  Paris  to  the 
Due  de  Bourgogne  in  1418.  On  the  south  bank  of  the 
Seine  the  bridge  was  defended  by  the  Petit  Châtelet  (Cas- 
tellatum),  which  guarded  the  approach  to  La  Cité,  on  the 
site  now  called  Place  du  Petit  Pont.  It  was  a  massive 
quadrangular  castle,  having  round  towers  on  the  side 
towards  the  river,  and  a  gothic  gate  in  the  centre,  with  a 
vaulted  passage  for  carriages  running  under  the  middle  of 
the  building.  The  Provosts  of  Paris  had  their  official 
residence  here,  but  the  rest  of  the  castle  was  used  as  a 
prison,  in  which,  after  the  capture  of  Paris  by  the  Bur- 
gundians  (1418),  all  the  prisoners  were  massacred,  in- 
cluding the  Bishops  of  Bayeux,  Evreux,  Coutances,  and 
Senlis.  Here  also  was  the  President  Brisson  murdered 
Nov.  16,  1591.  By  old  custom,  the  clergy  of  Notre  Dame 
walked  hither  annually  in  procession  on  the  Dimanche  des 
Rameaux  and  delivered  one  prisoner.  The  interesting  old 
buildings  of  the  Petit  Châtelet  were  pulled  down  in  1782. 
It  was  on  its  site,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  St.  Jacques, 
that  the  great  barricade  of  1848  was  raised. 

The  first  turn  (left)  from  the  Rue  du  Petit  Pont  is  the 
Rue  delà  Bûcherie,  on  the  left  of  which,  in  a  courtyard,  is 
the  deserted  Church  of  St.  Julien  le  Pauvre  ^  (which  can 
only  be  seen  with  an  order  from  the  Directeur  of  the 
Hôtel  Dieu).  It  long  served  as  a  chapel  to  the  Hôtel 
Dieu,   and   once   belonged   to   a   priory  attached   to   the 

^  The  St.  Julien  to  whom  this  church  is  dedicated  was  a  poor  man  who,  in 
penitence,  devoted  himself,  with  his  wife,  to  ferrying  passengers,  day  and 
night,  over  an  otherwise  impassable  river.  One  day  a  poor  leper  thus  received 
their  charity,  and,  on  reaching  the  shore,  revealed  himself  as  Christ  himself, 
and  promised  them  a  heavenly  reward.  The  story  is  told  in  a  relief  over  a  door 
in  No.  42  Rue  Galande. 


336  WALKS  I.V  PARIS 

abbey  of  Longchamps,  in  which,  in  tlie  XIII.  c.  and  XIV. 
c,  the  general  assemblies  of  the  University  were  held. 
The  church  was  built  towards  the  end  of  the  XII.  c.  on 
the  site  of  a  basilica  of  the  III.  c.  Its  portal  and  tower 
were  demolished  in  1675.  ^"^^^  interior  consists  of  a  nave 
of  four  bays,  with  side  aisles,  ending  in  three  apses. 

"The  two  bays  of  the  choir,  the  central  apse  and  the  two 
smaller  lateral  apses,  have  lost  nothing  of  their  original  arrange- 
ment. They  preserve  their  elegant  columns — some  of  them  mon- 
ostyle,  some  of  them  clustered,  their  foliated  capitals,  their  vaults 
supported  on  round  torus-like  mouldings,  and  their  sculptured 
keystones.  Columns  and  mouldings  decorate  the  windows. 
The  aspect  of  this  part  of  the  church  is  of  a  noble  character." — 
Dc  Guilhcrmy. 

St.  Julien  contains  a  Calvary  of  XIV.  c.  let  into  the 
altar,  a  bas-relief  of  the  same  date  representing  one 
Oudard  and  his  wife,  founders  of  the  chapel  of  the  Hôtel 
Dieu,  destroyed  in  the  XVI.  c;  the  XV.  c.  sepulchral 
bas-relief  of  Henri  Rousseau,  advocate  of  Parliament  ;  a 
XVI.  c.  statue  of  St.  Landry;  and  a  pretended  statue  of 
Charlemagne,  a  coarse  work  in  terracotta.  Gregory  of 
Tours  tells  us  that  when  he  came  to  Paris  in  the  VI.  c.  he 
inhabited  the  hospice  for  pilgrims  at  St.  Julien  le  Pauvre. 

In  the  Rue  dc  la  Biuherie  were  early  schools  of  medi- 
cine. Over  one  of  its  houses  the  arms  of  the  Faculty  may 
still  be  seen  with  the  motto,  "Urbi  et  orbi  salus." 

The  Rue  du  Fouarre  (down  which  there  is  a  beautiful 

glimpse  of  Notre  Dame)  runs  (left)   from  the  Rue  de  la 

Bûcherie  to  the  Rue  Galande.     This  street  contained  the 

famous  school,  held  in  the  straw  market,  where  both  his. 

earliest  biographers,    Boccaccio   and   Villani,    affirm   that 

Dante  attended  the  lectures  of  Siger  de  Brabant. 

"  Essa  è  la  luce  eterna  di  Sigieri, 

Che  leggendo  nel  vico  degli  Strami 
Sillogizzô  invidiosi  veri.' — Par,  x.  136. 


PLACE   MAUBEKT  337 

The  pupils  bought  bundles  of  straw  and  sat  on  them  dur- 
ing the  lectures.^ 

The  narrow  Rue  des  Anglais  leads  (right)  from  the 
Rue  Galande  to  (right)  the  Rue  Domat^  where  (at  No.  20) 
some  buildings  remain  from  the  ancient'  Breton  College  de 
Cor?îoiiailles,-  founded  in  the  XIV.  c.  Near  this,  at  the 
angle  of  the  Rue  St.  Jacques,  was  the  Chapelle  St.  Yves, 
destroyed  in  1793. 

The  Place  Maubert,  an  open  space  at  the  end  of  the 
Rue  Galande,  below  the  modern  Boulevard  St.  Germain, 
probably  received  its  name  from  Mgr.  Aubert,  abbot  of 
St.  Germain  des  Prés,  to  which  this  site  belonged,  and  who 
must  first  have  authorized  its  being  built  ujDon. 

"  It  is  the  centre  of  all  the  bourgeoise  gallantry  of  the  quarter, 
and  is  well  frequented  because  there  are  pretty  unrestricted  oppor- 
tunities for  conversation.  Here  at  noon  arrives  a  train  of  young 
girls  whose  mothers,  ten  years  ago,  used  to  wear  the  hood,  the 
true  mark  and  character  of  the  bourgeoisie,  but  which  they  have, 
little  by  little,  so  sniffed  away  that  it  is  quite  vanished.  No  need 
to  say  that  dandies  and  gallants  came  there,  for  that  is  a  natural 
consequence.  Each  girl  had  her  following  more  or  less  numer- 
ous, according  as  her  beauty  or  her  good  fortune  attracted  them." 
— Le  Roman  Bourgeois. 

In  the  Rue  du  Haut  Pavé,  which  connects  the  Place 
Maubert  with  the  river,  stood  the  little  Collège  de  Chanac, 
founded  by  Guillaume  de  Chanac,  Bishop  of  Paris,  who 
died  1348.  It  was  connected  with  the  Collège  St.  Michel, 
in  the  next  street  on  the  left  of  the  Boulevard  St.  Germain, 
the  Rue  de  Bievre,  where,  at  No.  12,  one  may  still  see  a 
canopied  statue  of  St.  Michael  trampling  upon  the  devil, 
in  strong  relief     A  very  poor  student  here  in  the  XVIII.  c. 

'  At  that  time  the  people  sat  upon  straw  in  the  churches,  in  which  there 
were  then  no  chairs. 

^  The  names  of  colleges  are  only  given  iu  italics  when  something  of  their 
buildings  remains. 


3S^ 


JVALKS  IX  PARIS 


was  the  man  who,  without  faith  or  morals,  rose  by  his 
intrigues  under  the  Régent  d'Orléans,  to  be  Archbishop 
of  Cambrai,  Cardinal,  and  Prime  Minister — the  Abbé 
Dubois. 

Returning  to  the  Boulevard  St.  Germain,  we  find  on 
the  right  the  apse  of  the  Church  of  St.  Nicolas  du  Char- 
donnetj  founded  1230,  but  in  its  present  state  a  very  hand- 


ST.   NICOLAS  DU  CHARDONNET. 


some  specimen  of  the  end  of  the  XVII.  c,  when  it  was 
rebuilt,  except  the  tower,  by  Lebrun  the  artist,  who  is 
buried  in  the  fourth  chapel  on  the  left  of  the  choir,  with  a 
bust  by  Coysevox.  Close  by  is  the  striking  and  terrible 
monument  of  his  mother,  by  Callignon  and  Tuby,  which 
recalls   the   tomb   of  Mrs.    Nightingale   at   Westminster. 


ST.    NICOLAS  DU   CJIARDONNET  330 

Mme  Lebrun  is  reiDresented  rising  from  the  grave  at  the 
voice  of  the  archangel,  with  an  expression  of  awe,  yet  hope 
most  powerfully  given. 

In  the  second  chapel  on  the  right  of  the  choir,  is  the 
tomb  by  Girardon  with  a  bust  (and  portrait  over  it)  of 
Jerome  Bignon  (1656),  saved  during  the  Revolution  by 
being  transferred  to  the  Musée  des  Monuments  Français. 
The  poet  Santeuil,  who  died  at  Dijon  in  1697,  now  lies  in 
this  church,  after  having  four  times  changed  his  resting- 
place;  his  death  was  due  to  a  practical  joke  of  Louis  III., 
Due  de  Bourbon-Conde'. 

"One  evening,  when  the  duke  was  supping  with  him,  he 
amused  himself  by  making  Santeuil  drink  champagne,  and  be- 
coming more  merry,  he  diverted  himself  by  emptying  his  snuff- 
box, full  of  Spanish  snuff,  into  a  great  glass  of  wine,  and  making 
Santeuil  drink  it,  to  see  what  would  happen.  He  was  not  long 
in  being  enlightened.  Vomiting  and  fever  seized  him,  and  in 
forty-eight  hours  the  poor  man  died  in  all  the  pains  of  the 
damned,  but  with  sentiments  of  true  repentance.  He  received 
the  sacraments,  and  caused  as  much  edification  as  regret  to  a 
company  little  inclined  to  edification,  but  that  detested  such  a 
cruel  trick." — St.  Sivioii. 

In  the  almost  destroyed  Rue  des  Ber?iardms,  opposite 
the  west  end  of  the  church,  was  the  Hôtel  de  Torpane, 
built  in*i566  by  Jacques  Lefevre,  abbot  of  the  Chaise 
Dieu,  and  councillor  of  Charles  IX.  From  him  it  passed 
to  the  family  of  Bignon,  illustrious  in  politics  and  literature, 
whose  last  representative,  a  priest,  sold  it  to  M.  de  Torpane, 
Chancellor  of  Dombes.  In  his  family  it  remained  till  the 
Revolution.  It  was  pulled  down  in  1830,  and  its  sculpt- 
ures are  now  in  the  second  court  of  the  Beaux  Arts. 

A  striking  Statue  of  Voltaire  by  Houdon,  1781,  was 
erected  in  the  square  near  the  entrance  of  the  Rue 
Monge  in  1872. 

On  the  left,  in  the   Rue  de  Poissy\   a  range    of  gothic 


340  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

arches,  shaded  by  trees  and  built  into  the  walls  of  the 
Caserne  des  Pompiers,  is  a  remnant  of  the  Couvent  des  Ber- 
nardins or  du  Chardonnet,  founded  in  1245,  ^7  Abbot 
Etienne  de  Lexington.  Its  monks  rapidly  became  cele- 
brated for  their  lectures  on  theology,  and  Pope  Benedict 
XII.,  who  had  attended  them  in  his  youth,  began  to  build 
a  new  church  for  the  convent  in  1338.  This  church  was 
pulled  down  at  the  Revolution,  and  a  bust  from  one  of  its 
tombs  (that  of  Guillaume  de  Vair,  bishop  of  Lisieux, 
Keeper  of  the  Seals  under  Louis  XIII.)  is  now  at  Ver- 
sailles. The  Refectory  became  a  warehouse,  and  the 
Dormitory,  for  some  time,  held  the  archives  of  the  Pre- 
fecture de  la  Seine. 

A  little  further  on  the  east,  the  Rue  des  Ecoles  is 
crossed  by  the  Rue  du  Cardinal  Lemoine,  which  is  so 
modernized  as  to  have  nothing  but  its  name  to  recall  the 
College  du  Cardinal  Lemoine^  once  one  of  the  greatest  col- 
leges of  the  University.  It  was  founded  in  the  middle  of 
the  XIII.  c.  by  Cardinal  Jean  Lemoine  and  his  brother 
André,  bishop  of  Noyon.  The  brothers  were  buried,  side 
by  side,  in  the  chapel,  where  a  very  curious  service,  called 
la  solennité  du  cardi?ial,  was  always  celebrated  on  January 
13,  one  of  the  scholars  being  dressed  up  as  a  cardinal,  to 
represent  Lemoine.  The  college  was  sold  at  the  Revolu- 
tion. A  massive  building  belonging  to  it  long  existed  at 
the  end  of  ground  belonging  to  No.  22  Rue  du  Cardinal 
Lemoine,  and  has  only  recently  perished.  This  street  now 
crosses  the  site  of  the  Collège  des  Bons  Enfants,  which 
stood  at  the  top  of  the  Rue  des  Fossés  St.  Bernard.  It 
was  founded  before  1248,  at  which  date  a  bull  of  Innocent 
IV.  authorized  its  students  to  build  a  chapel.  Its  Prin- 
cipal from  1624  to  1634  was  M.  Vincent,  afterwards  known 
as  St.   Vincent  de  Paul,  who  founded   here   his  Congre- 


RUE  DES  FOSSÉS  ST.    VICTOR  341 

gatioM  des  Prêtres  de  la  Mission.  After  St.  Vincent  had 
moved  to  St.  Lazare,  the  Se'minaire  de  St.  Firmin  was 
established  here  by  the  Archbishop  of  Paris.  At  the 
Revolution  this  was  the  terrible  prison  in  which  ninety-two 
priests  were  confined.  In  the  massacres  of  September  i 
and  2,  1792,  fifteen  were  saved,  but  seventy-seven  were 
thrown  from  the  windows^  stabbed,  or  had  their  throats 
cut.  The  buildings  were  sold,  and  have  now  entirely 
perished.  It  was  in  the  Rue  des  Bons  Enfants  that  the 
Constable  Bernard  d'Armagnac  had  his  hotel,  whence,  when 
Perinet  le  Clerc  introduced  the  Burgundians  into  Paris, 
May  29,  14 1 8,  he  fled  for  refuge  to  the  house  of  a  neigh- 
boring mason,  who  betrayed  him. 

The  Collège  des  Bons  Enfants  joined  the  walls  of 
Philippe  Auguste,  the  moat  of  which  is  still  commemo- 
rated in  the  name  of  the  Rue  des  Fossés  St.  Ber?iard,  which 
extended  north  as  far  as  the  Porte  St.  Bernard  near  the 
Seine,  transformed  into  a  triumphal  arch  in  honor  of  Louis 
XIV.,  and  since  destroyed.  Its  continuation,  the  Rue  des 
Fossés  St.  Victor^''  in  great  measure  swallowed  up  by  the 
upper  part  of  the  Rue  du  Cardinal  Lemoine,  united  with 
it  in  marking  the  direction  of  the  walls  to  the  south,  and 
commemorated  the  famous  abbey  of  St.  Victor,  founded  c. 
1 1 13,  on  the  site  of  a  hermit's  cell,  by  Guillaume  de 
Champeaux,  who  was  driven  to  take  monastic  vows  by  his 
disgust  at  his  lectures  being  abandoned  for  those  of  his 
rival — the  famous  Abelard.  Members  of  this  community 
were  the  famous  writers  and  theologians,  Hugues  and 
Richard  de  St.  Victor,  and  Adam  de  St.  Victor,  celebrated 
for  his  hymns.  The  epitaph  of  the  latter,  engraved  on 
copper,  and  preserved  in  the  Bibliothèque  Mazarine,  is 
probably  the  only  relic  remaining  of  the  abbey,  which  was 

*  Part  of  the  Rue  des  Fossés  St.  Victor  remains  below  the  Rue  Monge. 


342  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

totally  destroyed  in  the  Revolution.  It  was  at  one  time 
the  favorite  burial-place  of  the  bishops  of  Paris/  and  was 
also  the  place  where  the  provost  and  other  officers  of  the 
city  met  a  newly-appointed  bishop  on  his  entry  into  the 
capital,  which  he  always  made  upon  a  white  horse. 

In  the  Rue  d^ Arras,  which  opens  from  the  Rue  Monge 
opposite  the  site  of  the  Collège  du  Cardinal  Lemoine,  was 
the  little  XIII.  c.  Collège  d'Arras,  destroyed  at  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Returning  to  the  Place  Maubert,  we  find  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Boulevard  St.  Germain  the  small  fragment  left 
of  the  Rue  St.  Jeafi  de  Beauvais,  in  which  the  learned 
Charron  fell  down  dead,^  and  which  takes  its  name  from  a 
college  founded  by  Cardinal  Jean  de  Dormans,  Bishop  of 
Beau  vais  and  Chancellor  of  France,  1365-72.  Here  St. 
François  Xavier  was  a  teacher,  and  here  the  famous  Ra- 
mus was  killed  during  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
whilst  he  was  working  in  his  study. 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  the  masters  and 
scholars  of  the  Collège  de  Beauvais  were  transported  to 
the  buildings  of  the  Collège  Louis  le  Grand,  from  which 
the  Jesuits  had  been  driven  out,  and  their  own  buildings 
were  given  to  the  occupants  of  the  Collège  de  Lisieux, 
which  was  about  to  be  destroyed  to  make  the  Place  St. 
Geneviève.      In  the   Revolution    the  former  Collège   de 


^  The  only  monuments  saved  from  this  church  are  the  marble  statue  of 
Guillaume  de  Chanac,  twenty-seventh  Bishop  of  Paris  and  Patriarch  of  Alex- 
andria (1348),  which  lay  upon  his  tomb  in  the  chapel  of  the  Infirmary,  and  is 
now  in  the  Musée  at  Versailles  ;  the  epitaph  of  Adam  de  St.  Victor  (1192),  now 
in  the  Bibliothèque  Mazarine  :  and  the  epitaph  of  Santeuil  removed  (with  his 
remains)  to  St.  Nicolas  du  Chardonnet. 

2  "  Le  16  de  ce  mois,  sur  les  onze  heurs  du  matin,  tomba  mort  en  la  rue  St. 
Jean  de  Beauvais,  M.  Charron, homme  d'église  et  docte,  comme  ses  écrites  en  font 
foi.  A  l'instant  qu'il  se  sentit  mal,  il  se  jeta  à  genoux,  dans  la  rue,  pour  prier 
Dieu  ;  mais  il  ne  fut  sitôt  genouillé,  que,  se  tournant  de  l'autre  côté,  il  rendit 
Vâme  à  son  cxésLiQur."— Journal  de  fEstoille,  November,  1603. 


L'ÉCOLE   DE   DROLT  343 

Beauvais  became  the  meeting-place  of  a  section  of  tlie 
Panthe'on  français.  At  the  Restoration  it  was  used  as  a 
miUtary  hospital  and  barrack.  In  186 1  it  was  purchased 
by  the  Dominicans.  They  have  restored  its  graceful  XIV. 
c.  chapel,  the  foundation  stone  of  which  was  laid  by  Charles 
V.  On  a  marble  altar-tomb  before  the  high-altar  lay  the 
bronze  effigies  of  Milus  de  Dormans,  Bishop  of  Beauvais, 
nephew  of  the  founder  (1387),  and  of  Guillaume  de  Dor- 
mans,  Archbishop  of  Sens  (1405).  At  the  sides  were  six 
life-size  statues  representing  three  males  and  three  females 
of  the  house  of  Dormans,  with  gothic  inscriptions  in  Latin 
and  French.  Of  these  the  statues  of  Jean  de  Dormans, 
Chancellor  of  Beauvais  (1380),  and  his  brother  Renaud, 
Archdeacon  of  Chalons  sur  Marne  (1380),  are  now  in  the 
Musée  at  Versailles.  One  of  the  ladies  has  had  a  more 
remarkable  fate,  in  being  used  to  represent  Héloïse  in  the 
tomb  which  was  composed  of  ancient  fragments  for  the 
Père  Lachaise. 

The  Collège  de  Beauvais  joined  the  Collège  de  Presles, 
established  in  13 13  by  Raoul  de  Presles  for  the  benefit 
of  natives  of  Soissons.  Higher  up  the  street  stood  the 
ancient  Ecole  de  Droit,  where  the  Duchesse  de  Bourbon, 
mother  of  the  unfortunate  Due  d^Enghien,  and  aunt  of  king 
Louis  Philippe,  died,  January  10,  1822. 

"The  Duchess  of  Bourbon,  struck  with  apoplexy  in  the 
church  St.  Geneviève,  was  transported  to  the  Law  School,  where 
she  died  at  the  house  of  M,  Grapp,  one  of  the  professors." — Dtis- 

sieitx,  "  Généalogie  des  Bourbons.'' 

The  Ecole  de  Droit  stood  opposite  the  Commanderie 
de  St.  Jean  de  Latran,  where  the  Frères  Hospitaliers  de 
St.  Jean  de  Jérusalem  had  their  hotel.  In  their  church 
was  placed,  under  Louis  XIV.,  the  cenotaph  of  Jacques 
de  Souvré,  Grand  Prieur  de  France,  by  François  Auguier, 


344  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

which  is  now  in  the  Louvre.  The  church,  partly  destroyed 
at  the  Revolution,  became  a  communal  school  ;  its  tower — 
"la  tour  des  pèlerins" — was  used  as  an  anatomical  the- 
atre by  the  famous  Bichat.  Though  strikingly  simple  and 
beautiful  from  an  architectural  point  of  view,  and  though 
an  undoubted  work  of  the  time  of  Philippe  Auguste,  the 
town  of  Paris,  to  its  eternal  disgrace,  permitted  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Tour  des  Pèlerins  in  1854. 

Crossing  by  the  Rue  des  Ecoles  into  the  Rue  des 
Carmes,  the  parallel  street  on  the  east,  we  find,  in  the  court 
of  No.  15,  the  old  chapel,  like  an  Oxford  college  chapel, 
belonging  to  the  Irish  Seminary  in  the  Rue  des  Postes, 
which  was  attached  to  the  Collège  des  Lombards,  founded 
in  1333  by  André  Ghini,  Bishop  of  Arras,  for  the  benefit 
of  Italian  merchants.  Under  Louis  XII.  its  Principal  was 
the  famous  Greek  scholar,  Jerome  Alexandre,  afterwards 
cardinal.  In  the  reign  of  François  I.  its  printing  office  was 
celebrated.  Under  Louis  XIV.,  as  few  Italians  came  to 
Paris,  the  college  declined,  and  was  ceded  to  Irish  priests 
employed  in  education.  Most  of  the  buildings  were  de- 
stroyed at  the  Revolution. 

At  the  corner  of  the  Rue  St.  Hilai7'e  stood  the  church 
of  St.  Hilaire,  pulled  down  in  the  last  century,  and  oppo- 
site it  was  the  Collège  de  la  Merci,  founded  in  the  XVI. 
c.  for  brothers  of  Notre  Dame  de  la  Rédemption  des 
Captifs. 

The  Marché  des  Carmes  marks  the  site  of  the  Carmel- 
ite convent,  which  was  founded  by  Jeanne  d'Evreux,  wife 
of  Philippe  le  Bel,  for  monks  brought  from  Mount  Carmel 
by  St.  Louis.  The  convent  was  moved  hither  from  the 
Marais,  where  the  Carmelites  are  commemorated  in  the 
Rue  des  Barrés.  The  cloister  had  a  beautiful  gothic  open- 
air  pulpit. 


COLLÈGE  DES  GRASSLNS  345 

Hence  we  may  ascend  the  Rue  de  la  Montagne.  On 
the  left  was  the  XIII.  c.  College  de  la  Marche. 

Further  on  the  left  the  vast  buildings  of  the  Ecole 
Polytechnique  swallow  up  the  sites  of  the  ancient  colleges 
of  Navarre,  Boncourt,  and  Tournai,  the  first  of  which  was 
founded  by  Jeanne  de  Navarre,  wife  of  Philippe  le  Bel,  the 
second  (in  1355),  by  eight  scholars  of  the  diocese  of  Thé- 
rouanne.  Cardinal  Fleury  was  grand-master  of  the  Col- 
lege de  Navarre,  which  numbers  the  great  Bossuet  amongst 
its  pupils,  also  Andre'  and  Marie  Joseph  Chenier.  On  the 
right,  the  Rue  Laplace,  formerly  Rue  des  Amandiers,  con- 
tained the  entrance  to  the  College  des  Grasshis,  one  of  the 
ten  great  colleges  before  the  Revolution.  It  was  founded 
at  the  end  of  the  XVI.  c.  by  Pierre  Grassin  d'Ablon, 
Councillor  of  Parliament,  for  poor  men  of  Sens.  Its 
buildings  were  sold  at  the  Revolution,  but  part  of  the  apse 
of  the  chapel,  with  gothic  windows,  is  said  still  to  remain 
at  the  back  of  the  houses. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  Rue  des  Amandiers,  close  to 
St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  stood  the  Collège  de  Huban,  founded 
(in  1339)  by  Jean  de  Huban,  Président  des  Enquêtes,  for 
six  scholars  from  Huban  in  Nivernais.  This  college  was 
sometimes  called  Ave  Maria,  from  the  inscription  under 
an  image  over  the  gate.  Its  chapel  contained  monuments 
to  the  founder  and  Egasse  du  Boulay,  historian  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris.  The  buildings  were  sold  at  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

The  Church  of  St.  Etie7ine  du  Mont — "  fine  et  délicate 
merveille  de  l'art  français" — was  built  (15 17-1626)  on  the 
site  of  an  earlier  edifice  of  the  XIII.  c,  which  had  been 
intended  as  a  succursale  to  the  adjoining  church  of  St. 
Geneviève,  that  it  might  afford  accommodation  for  its  pil- 
grims.    The  existing  church   is   a   curious   specimen  of 


346  WALJ^S  IN  PARIS 

renaissance,  with  a  high  gabled  front  of  three  stories,  of 
which  Queen  Marguerite,  first  wife  of  Henri  IV.,  laid  the 
first  stone,  and  a  tall  gothic  tower  flanked  by  a  round 
tourelle.  The  building  has  been  well  described  as  "a 
gothic  church  disguised  in  the  trappings  of  classical  de- 
tails." 

"  The  great  western  doorway,  erected  in  the  early  years  of  the 
XIV.  c,  is  distinguished  by  the  originality  of  its  form,  and  the 
beautiful  execution  of  its  sculpture.  In  the  first  order,  four  en- 
gaged composite  columns  sustain  a  triangular  pediment  on  which 
is  sculptured  the  Last  Judgment  (by  Debay),  and  enclose  two 
side  niches  containing  the  statues  of  St.  Stephen  and  Sainte 
Geneviève  (by  Hébert).  The  shafts  arc  fluted  and  cut  at  intervals 
by  scrolls  engraved  with  roses  and  palms.  The  workmanship  of 
the  capitals  is  excellent.  The  wreaths  which  accompany  the  col- 
umns, the  foliage  of  the  friezes  and  panels,  the  corbels  and 
tracery  of  the  pediment,  are  remarkable  for  breadth  of  style  and 
finish  of  workmanship.  The  tympan  of  the  principal  door  repre- 
sents '  The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen  '  (by  Thomas).  In  the  upper 
part  of  the  façade,  a  rose-window  of  twelve  compartments  is 
placed  under  a  broken  semicircular  pediment.  On  each  side  of 
the  rose  is  a  niche  containing  on  the  right,  the  statue  of  the  Vir- 
gin, on  the  left,  that  of  Gabriel.  A  second  elliptical  rose  is 
pierced  in  the  gable." — Be  Gtdlhermy. 

The  aisles  are  the  whole  height  of  the  church.  The 
triforium  gallery  merely  runs  from  pillar  to  pillar  along 
the  sides  of  nave  and  choir,  and  is  interrupted  at  the  tran- 
septs. In  the  choir  it  is  reached  by  twisted  staircases 
wreathed  round  the  pillars  on  either  side  of  the  eccentric 
rood-loft — the  only  one  left  in  Paris— sculptured  by  Biard 
(1600-1605). 

"The  flattened  arch  thrown  boldly  across  the  choir,  the 
pierced  turrets  which  contain  the  stairs  and  rise  in  spirals  far 
above  the  platform,  the  suspended  balustrade  which  serves  as  a 
support,  are  so  many  difficulties  that  the  architect  has  proposed 
to  himself,  to  better  display  all  the  resources  of  his  skill.  Angels, 
palms,  wreaths,  knots,  masks,  decorate  the  archivolts  and  friezes. 


ST.    ETIENNE  DU  MONT 


347 


The  rood-loft  is  finished  by  two  doors  closing  the  aisles  of  the 
choir.  The  leaves  are  of  open  work,  and  above  the  entablature, 
in  the  middle  of  broken  triangular  pediments,  two  worshippers, 
gracefully  executed,  are  seated." — De  Guilhermy. 

"  Religious    art   died    in    St.    Etienne   du    Mont." — Martin, 
"  Hist  de  France^ 

The  pulpit,  which  Samson  carries  on  his  shoulders, 


ST.    ETIENNE   DU    MONT    (INTERIOR). 


was  designed  by  Laurent  de  la  Hire.  The  windov/s  of  the 
nave  are  round-headed,  those  of  the  choir  pointed.  Some 
of  the  windows  have  splendid  examples  of  XV.  c.  and 
XVII.  c.  glass,  and  Cousin,  Pinaigrier,  and  other  great 
masters  have  worked  on  them:  the  earliest  are  in  the 
apse.     Amongst  the  stories  told  in  the  windows  the  most 


348  WALfTS  TA'   PARIS 

remarkable  is  the  legend  of  the  Jew  Jonathas,  who  on 
April  12,  1290,  whilst  living  in  the  Rue  des  Jardins,  com- 
pelled a  woman  who  owed  him  money  to  give  up  to  him  a 
consecrated  wafer  received  at  the  communion.  He  pierced 
the  wafer  in  various  ways,  and  blood  gushed  forth  :  then 
he  threw  it  into  a  cauldron  full  of  boiling  water,  which 
immediately  became  the  color  of  blood.  The  story  got 
wind.  A  woman  swallowed  the  wafer.  The  Jew  was 
seized,  condemned,  and  burnt  alive.  His  house  was 
pulled  down,  and  on  its  site  a  chapel,  called  des  Miracles, 
was  built.  The  street  was  known  henceforth  as  Rtie  où 
Dieu  fut  bouilli. 

In  the  third  chapel  (right)  are  inscriptions  recording 
the  celebrated  persons  buried  in  this  or  other  churches  of 
the  parish,  including  St.  Geneviève,  St.  Clotilde,  Clovis 
and  his  daughter  Clotilde,  Pascal,  Tournefort,  RoUin,  and 
Lemaistre  de  Sacy,  the  anatomist. 

In  the  fifth  chapel  is  a  Saint  Sépulcre,  of  eight  life-size 
terra-cotta  figures  of  the  XVI.  c.,*  from  the  destroyed 
church  of  St.  Benoît — an  excellent  work,  full  of  unex- 
aggerated  feeling.  An  old  picture,  in  the  same  chapel, 
represents  Louis  XIII.  offering  his  crown  to  the  crucified 
Saviour.  Against  the  wall  of  the  south  aisle  of  the  choir 
is  the  gravestone  of  Blaise  Pascal,  with  a  Latin  inscription 
by  Boileau,  brought  from  the  village  church  of  Magny-les- 
Hameaux,  to  which  it  came  from  Port  Royal  ;  and  that 
of  the  anatomist  Jacques  Bénigne  Winslow  (converted  to 
Catholicism  by  Bossuet),  brought  hither  from  the  destroyed 
church  of  St  Benoît. 

In  the  choir  aisles  are  the  gravestones  of  Racine,  who 
was  buried  behind  the  high-altar,  and  Pascal,  whose  coffin 
was  brought  to  the  chapel  of  St  Jean  Baptiste  after  the 
ruin  of  Port  Royal.     In  the  second  chapel,  on  the  right  of 


ST.    E  TIENNE   DU  MONT  349 

the  choir,  the  modem  gilt  shrine  of  St.  Geneviève, 
patroness  of  Paris,  rises  in  gothic  glory.  Her  original 
shrine  was  sent  to  the  mint  to  be  melted  down  in  1793. 
The  sarcophagus  of  St.  Geneviève  was  found  in  the  crpyt 
of  the  abbey  church,  but  it  is  empty,  for  her  bones  were 
burnt  by  the  mob  in  the  Place  de  Grève  in  180 1.  Candles, 
however,  are  always  burning  around  the  existing  shrine. 
It  is  the  custom  for  devotees  to  buy  a  taper,  and  pray 
while  it  burns.  Every  year  the  neiivaine  of  St.  Geneviève 
brings  a  pious  crowd,  from  every  part  of  Paris,  to  pray  by 
the  tomb  of  its  patroness.  In  one  of  the  apsidal  chapels 
is  the  empty  stone  coffin  in  which  the  body  of  the  saint 
was  laid,  on  January  3,  511,  and  from  which  her  relics 
were  removed  to  the  original  shrine. 

St.  Geneviève  was  a  peasant  girl,  born  at  Nanterre, 
near  Paris,  in  421,  and  employed 'in  her  childhood  as  a 
shepherdess.  When  she  was  seven  years  old,  St  Germain, 
Bishop  of  Auxerre,  passing  through  her  village,  became 
miraculously  aware  of  the  future  glory  of  la  pucdette 
Gefievieve,  and  consecrated  her  to  the  service  of  God. 
Her  course  was  henceforth  marked  by  miracles,  which  be- 
gan when  her  mother,  struck  blind  for  boxing  her  ears, 
was  restored  by  her  prayers.  After  the  death  of  her 
parents  Geneviève  resided  with  an  aged  relation  in  Paris, 
and  led  a  life  of  piety  and  humility,  varied  by  victorious 
conflicts  with  demons.  When  the  city  was  besieged  by 
Attila,  and  the  inhabitants  were  preparing  to  fly,  she 
emerged  from  her  solitude  and  urged  them  to  remain, 
assuring  them  that  Heaven  would  deliver  them  ;  and  in 
truth  the  barbarians  withdrew  without  sacking  the  town. 
During  the  siege  by  Childeric,  Paris  was  provisioned  by 
boats  on  the  Seine  personally  commanded  by  Geneviève, 
and,  after  the  city  was  taken,  Clovis  and  Clotilde  were 


35« 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


converted  by  her  to  Christianity.  Then  the  first  Christian 
church  was  built,  in  which,  dying  at  eighty-nine,  the 
shepherdess  Geneviève  was  buried  by  the  side  of  King 
Clovis  and  Queen  Clotilde.  In  her  latter  years  she  is 
said  to  have  lived  in  a  convent  near  St.  Jean  en  Grève, 
afterwards  called  l'Hôpital  des  Landriettes.     Here  a  bed 


ST.    ETIENNE   DU    MONT   (nORTH  PORCHJ. 


was  shown  as  hers,  and  it  was  affirmed  that  in  the  great 
flood  of  the  time  of  Louis  le  Débonnaire,  the  water,  which 
filled  her  chamber,  formed  a  solid  arch  over  that  sacred 
couch,  leaving  it  untouched. 

It  was  in  St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  in  1857,  "in  the  very 
sanctuary   itself,    at   the   very  steps  of   the  altar,  in  the 


COLLEGE   DES  ECOSSAIS  351 

midst  of  his  clergy,  clothed  in  his  sacred  vestments,  with 
mitre  on  head  and  crozier  in  hand,  and  in  the  very  act 
of  blessing  the  prostrate  congregation,"  that  Archbishop 
Sibour  was  foully  murdered  by  a  profligate  priest  of  his 
own  diocese. 

The  north  porch  of  St.  Etienne,  with  the  little  house 
above  it,  and  its  quaint  tourelle,  is  a  favorite  subject  with 
artists. 

Along  the  south  side  of  St.  Etienne  runs  the  Rue  Clovis, 
at  the  end  of  which  (right),  in  a  garden,  a  bit  of  the  wall  of 
Philippe  Auguste  may  be  seen.  Near  this  is  the  Cabaret 
du  Roi  Clovis^  which  played  a  part  in  the  affair  of  the 
sergeants  of  La  Rochelle. 

Opposite  the  end  of  the  Rue  Clovis  (in  the  upper  part 
of  the  new  Rue  du  Cardinal  Lemoine)  is  the  Institution 
Chevalier.  Over  its  door,  the  inscription  College  des 
Ecossais,  in  old  characters,  tells  its  former  history.  It 
was  founded,  in  1313,  by  David,  Bishop  of  Moray,  for 
four  poor  scholars  of  his  diocese  desiring  to  study  in 
Paris.  Visitors  are  allowed  to  ascend  the  fine  old  oak 
staircase  to  the  chapel  (on  the  left  of  the  first  landing). 
It  is  like  a  college  chapel  at  Oxford  in  its  dark  woodwork, 
stained  glass,  and  picture  (of  the  martyrdom  of  St. 
Andrew)  over  the  altar.  James  II.  of  England,  who  died 
at  St.  Germain  in  1701,  bequeathed  his  brains  to  this 
chapel,  where  they  were  preserved  in  a  gilt  urn  (given  by 
the  Duke  of  Perth)  resting  on  a  white  marble  obelisk, 
which  stood  on  a  black  pedestal.  Recently,  in  making  a 
passage,  the  leaden  case  containing  the  brains  of  the  king 
was  found  intact.  A  similar  coffer  which  was  found  con- 
tained, it  is  believed,  the  heart  of  the  Duchess  of  Perth, 
which  formerly  lay  under  an  incised  slab  in  the  chapel 
floor.     In  the  recess  of  one  of  the  windows  on  the  left  is 


352  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

an  epitaph  of  a  Monteith,  mortally  wounded  at  the  siege 
of  Dachstern  in  Alsace,  in  1675. 

In  the  anteehapel  is,  first,  the  tomb  of  Frances  Jen- 
nings, Duchess  of  Tyrconnell^  lady-in-waiting  to  Queen 
Mary  Beatrice  (1731)  ;  then  the  black-marble  tomb  which 
the  faithful  James,  Duke  of  Perth,  erected  to  his  master 
("  moerens  posuit  "),  with  a  long  epitaph  describing  the 
king's  gentleness  and  patience  in  adversity,  when  driven 
from  his  throne  by  the  impiety  of  Absalom,  the  treachery 
of  Achitophel,  and  with  the  cruel  taunts  of  Shimei,  when, 
"ipsis  etiam  inimicis  amicus,  superavit  rebus  humanis 
major,  adversis  superior,  et  coelestis  gloriae  studio  inflam- 
matus,  quod  regno  caruerit  sibi  visus  beatior,  miseram 
banc  vitam  felici,  regnum  terrestre  coelesti,  commutavit." 

Opposite  IS  the  monument  of  "  Marianus  O'CruoUy," 
an  Irish  knight  (1700). 

In  the  Rue  Clovis,  opposite  the  church  of  St.  Etienne 
(observe  here,  externally,  its  flat  east  end),  are  the  build- 
ings of  the  Lycée  Henri  IV.^  enclosing  the  beautiful  Tower 
of  the  destroyed  church  of  St.  Geneviève,  which  is  roman- 
esque at  the  base,  but  XIV.  c.  and  XV.  c.  in  its  upper 
stories.  The  east  side  of  the  Lycée,  looking  upon  the 
quiet  Rue  Clotilde  at  the  back  of  the  Pantheon,  occupies 
the  site  of  the  Abbaye  de  St.  Geneviève,  founded  by  Clovis 
and  Clotilde  in  508.  The  principal  existing  remnant  of 
the  abbey  is  the  XIII.  c.  refectoiy,  a  great  vaulted  hall, 
without  columns,  partially  restored  externally  in  1886. 
The  cloister  was  rebuilt,  and  a  XIII.  c.  chapel  of  Notre 
Dame  de  la  Miséricorde,  on  its  south  side,  destroyed  in 
1776. 

We  now  reach  the  Pantheon^  which  has  divided  its 
existence  between  being  a  pagan  temple  and  a  Christian 
church  dedicated  to  St.  Geneviève.     Clovis  built  the  first 


THE  PANTHEON  353 

church  near  this  site,  and  dedicated  it  to  Sts.  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  tliere  he,  St.  Clotilde,  the  murdered  children  of 
Clodomir,  and  St.  Geneviève  were  buried.  The  early 
church  was  burnt  by  the  Normans,  but  restored,  and  from 
the  X.  c.  the  miracles  wrought  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Gene- 
vieve changed  its  name.  In  1148  the  church  was  given  to 
the  canons-regular  of  St.  Victor.  The  shrine  of  St.  Gene- 
vieve, supported  on  the  shoulders  of  four  statues,  stood  on 
lofty  pillars  behind  the  altar,  and  thence  in  time  of  flood 
or  sickness  it  was  carried  forth  in  procession,  and  river 
and  pestilence  were  supposed  to  recede  before  it.  Much 
amusement  was  excited  by  the  tomb  erected  here  to  Car- 
dinal de  la  Rochefoucauld,  on  which  he  was  represented 
with  an  angel  carrying  his  train.  The  steeple  of  the  church 
was  destroyed  by  lightning  in  1489.  On  June  25,  1665, 
the  remains  of  the  philosopher  Descartes,  brought  from 
Stockholm,  were  received  in  state  by  the  abbot,  and  buried 
near  the  Chapelle  St.  Geneviève,  though  a  funeral  oration 
was  forbidden  by  Louis  XIV.  ^  When  Louis  XV.  recov- 
ered from  serious  illness  at  Metz,  the  canons,  who  dis- 
liked their  old  gothic  church,  urged  upon  him  that  as  his 
restoration  must  be  due  to  the  prayers  of  St.  Geneviève  he 
owed  her  a  fashionable  Grecian  church  as  a  reward.  The 
king  acquiesced  in  ordering  the  new  church,  though  the 
old  one  was  not  pulled  down  till  1801-7.^  Jacques  Ger- 
man Soufflot  was  employed  to  design  the  new  edifice,  and 
great  difficulties,  caused  by  the  discovery  of  quarries  under 


^  Descartes  is  now  commemorated  in  the  name  of  a  neighboring  street. 

2  The  capitals  of  the  nave  of  St,  Geneviève  are  in  the  second  court  of  the 
Beaux  Arts.  The  statues  by  Germain  Pilon,  w^hich  supported  the  shrine,  are 
at  the  Louvre,  The  statue  of  Clovis  is  at  St.  Denis.  The  tomb  of  Cardinal 
François  de  la  Rochefoucauld  (1645)  is  at  the  Hospice  de  Femmes  Incurables, 
which  was  founded  by  him;  the  tomb  and  effigy  of  a  Chancellor  of  Notre 
Dame  de  Noyon  (1350)  are  at  the  Beaux  Arts  ;  the  gravestone  of  Descartes  is  at 
St.  Germain  des  Prés. 


354  H^ALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  building,  which  had  to  be  filled  up,  were  laboriously 
removed.  The  first  stone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  by 
Louis  XV.  in  1764;  its  original  architect,  Soufflet,  died  in 
1780,  but  it  was  completed  under  his  pupil  Rondelet. 

"M.  Soufflot's  St.  Geneviève  is  certainly  the  prettiest  Savoy 
biscuit  ever  made  in  stone." —  Victor  Hiigo. 

After  the  death  of  Mirabeau,  the  building  was  conse- 
crated as  the  burial-place  of  illustrious  citizens,  and  "  Aux 
grands  hommes  la  patrie  reconnaissante"  was  inscribed 
in  large  letters  upon  the  façade,  as  it  now  appears.  At 
the  Restoration,  however,  this  inscription  was  for  a  time 
replaced  by  another  saying  that  Louis  XVIII.  had  re- 
stored the  church  to  worship.  With  the  government  of 
July  the  building  became  a  Pantheon  again.  From  1851 
to  1885  it  was  again  a  church,  and  then  was  once  more 
taken  away  from  God  that  it  might  be  given  to — Victor 
Hugo! 

The  Pantheon  is  open  daily  from  10  to  4.  Visitors  collect  on 
the  right  of  the  east  end  till  the  guardian  chooses  to  show  the 
vaults  {caveaux).  Twenty  is  the  nominal  number  allowed,  but  he 
will  usually  wait  for  a  part}'^  of  sixty  to  save  himself  trouble 
(50  c).  To  ascend  the  dome  an  order  from  the  Beaux  Arts  is 
required. 

The  peristyle  and  dome  of  the  Pantheon  are  magnifi- 
cent. The  former  is  adorned  with  a  relief,  by  David 
d'Angers,  of  France  distributing  palm-branches  to  her 
worthiest  children  ;  Napoleon  I.  is  a  portrait.  In  the  por- 
tico are  groups  of  St.  Geneviève  and  Attila,  and  the  Bap- 
tism of  Clovis.  The  steps  (1887)  are  covered  with  wreaths 
offered  to  the  memory  of  Victor  Hugo.  Stately  and  har- 
monious, the  interior  is  cold,  though  color  is  being  grad- 
ually given  by  frescoes  which  seem  to  belong  more  to  the 
former  than  the  present  character  of  the  building,  as  they 


THE  PANTHEON  355 

represent  the  story  of  the  saints  especially  connected  with 
Paris — the  childhood,  miracles,  and  death  of  St.  Gene- 
vieve ;  the  justice  and  judgment  of  St.  Louis  ;  the  martyr- 
dom of  St.  Denis  (first  chapel,  left — a  terrific  picture),  &c. 
Some  of  these  frescoes  have  much  beauty.  In  the  dome, 
the  apotheosis  'of  St.  Geneviève  is  represented  by  Gros^ 
in  which  the  shepherd  maiden  was  originally  portrayed  as 
receiving  the  homage  of  Clovis,  Charlemagne,  St.  Louis, 
and  Napoleon  I.  After  the  return  of  the  Bourbons,  Napo- 
leon disappeared  and  Louis  XVIIL  took  his  place.  Louis 
XVI.,  Marie  Antoinette,  Madame  Elizabeth,  and  Louis 
XVII.  appear  in  the  upper  sphere  of  celestial  glory. 
Against  the  piers  are  masses  of  wreaths  in  honor  of  the 
citizens  who  "fell  in  defence  of  liberty"  in  1850. 

The  first  tomb  usually  shown  in  the  crypt  is  (right) 
that  of  Victor  Hugo.  Facing  him  is  Molière.  On  the 
left  are  Voltaire,  with  a  statue  by  Houdon,  and  the  archi- 
tect Soufflot.  The  tombs  of  Voltaire  and  Rousseau  are 
empty,  having  been  pillaged  at  the  Revolution,  though  the 
tomb  of  Rousseau  is  still  inscribed — "  Ici  repose  l'homme 
de  la  nature  et  de  la  vérité."  The  tomb  of  Voltaire  bears 
the  epitaph — 

"  Poète,  historien,  philosophe,  il  agrandit  l'esprit  humain,  et 
l'apprit,  qu'il  devait  être  libre  ;  il  défendit  Calas,  Serven,  De  la 
Barre,  et  Mont  Bally  ;  il  combattait  les  athées  et  les  fanatiques, 
il  inspira  la  tolérance,  il  réclama  les  droits  de  l'homme,  contre  le 
monstre  de  la  féodalité." 

Lagrange  the  mathematician,  Bougainville  the  great 
navigator,  and  Marshal  Lannes,  lie  near.  The  remains  of 
Mirabeau  and  Marat,  brought  hither  in  triumph,  were 
soon  expelled  by  the  fickle  Parisians.  Caprice  exiled 
Mirabeau,  who  had  been  entombed  amid  the  mourning  of 
the  city,  to  a  corner  of  the  cemetery  of  St.  Etienne  du 


356 


IVALKS  IN  PARIS 


Mont  :  "  II  n'y  a  qu'un  pas  du  capitole  à  la  Roche  Tarpe- 
ienne  "  had  been  an  observation  in  one  of  his  last  speeches. 
At  the  same  time  a  decree  was  passed  that  all  the  monu- 
ments in  the  Pantheon,  except  those  of  Voltaire  and 
Rousseau,  should  be  cleared  away. 

There  is  a  famous  echo  in  one  part  of  the  crypt,  shown 
off  in  an  amusing  way  by  the  guardian,  who  produces  a 
cannonade,  a  cracking  of  whips,  &c.  The  great  statesmen 
all  lie  one  above  another,  in  great  sarcophagi,  exactly 
alike  :  many  of  them,  especially  the  cardinals,  seem  oddly 
placed  in  a  pagan  temple. 

From  the  west  front  of  the  Pantheon  the  broad  Rue 
Soufflot,  which  has  the  Ecole  de  Droit  at  its  entrance  on 
the  right,  crosses  (beyond  the  Rue  St.  Jacques)  the  site 
formerly  occupied  by  the  famous  convent  of  the  Jacobins. 
A  chapel,  of  which  the  University  had  the  patronage,  and 
which  was  dedicated  to  St.  Jacques,  being  given  to  the 
Frères  Prêcheurs  in  122 1,  only  five  years  after  the  confir- 
mation of  their  order,  brought  them  the  name  of  Jacobins. 
Their  celebrity  as  professors  of  theology  brought  pupils 
and  riches  to  their  convent,  and,  till  the  middle  of  the 
XIV.  c.  the  Dominicans  were  as  much  the  leaders  of 
thought  and  education  at  Paris  as  the  Franciscans  were 
at  Oxford  ;  in  the  XVIII.  c.  they  paled  before  the  popu- 
larity of  the  Jesuits.  The  buildings  of  the  Jacobins  were 
confiscated  at  the  Revolution.  Almost  all  the  confessors 
of  the  kings  and  queens  of  France  from  the  time  of  St. 
Louis  to  that  of  Henri  II.  were  monks  of  this  convent, 
and  perhaps  from  this  reason  their  church  was  especially 
rich  in  royal  monuments.  The  tomb  of  Charles  d'Anjou, 
King  of  Sicily,  brother  of  St.  Louis,  buried  here,  was 
saved,  during  the  Revolution,  by  Lenoir,  and  is  now  in  St. 
Denis. 


BIBLIOTHÈQUE   ST.    GENEVikVE  357 

On  the  north  of  the  Place  du  Pantheon  is  the  Biblio- 
thèque St.  Genevieve^  moved  from  the  ancient  and  admir- 
ably suitable  cruciform  galleries  of  the  abbey,  and  now 
occupying  the  site  of  the  Collège  de  Montaigu,  founded 
by  Gilles  Aiscelin  de  Montaigu,  Archbishop  of  Rouen 
(13 1 4),  and  Pierre  Aiscelin  de  Montaigu,  Bishop  of  Laon 
(1388).  At  the  Revolution  the  college  buildings  were 
turned  into  a  military  hospital  and  barrack  ;  in  1844  the 
present  uninteresting  library  was  built  on  their  site.  Theo- 
dore de  Bèze  says  that  Calvin,  after  he  left  the  Collège  de 
la  Marche,  spent  some  years  here  under  a  Spanish  pro- 
fessor. This  was  the  college  whose  severities,  notorious 
in  the  XV.  c,  are  described  by  the  tutor  of  Gargantua  to 
Grantgousier. 

"Ne  pensez  pas  que  je  I'aye  mis  au  college  de  pouillerye 
qu'on  nomme  Montaigu  ;  mieulx  leusse  voulu  mettre  entre  les 
guenaulx  de  Sainct-Innocent,  pour  lenorme  crualté  et  villenye 
que  j'y  ay  congneu  ;  car  trop  mieulx  sont  traictez  les  forcez  en- 
tre les  Maures  et  Tartares,  les  meutriers  en  la  prison  criminelle, 
voire  certe  les  chiens  de  vostre  maison,  que  ne  sont  ces  malauc- 
trus  ou  diet  college.  Et,  si  j'estois  roy  de  Paris,  le  d)'able  mem- 
porte  si  je  ne  mettoys  le  feu  dedans  ;  et  feroys  brusler  et  prin- 
cipal et  regens  qui  endurent  cette  inhumanité  devant  leuryeulx 
estre  exercée." — Rabelais. 

"Gilles  d'Aiscelin,  the  weak  archbishop,  the  terrible  judge 
of  the  Templars,  founded  this  terrible  college  of  Montaigu,  the 
poorest  and  most  democratic  of  the  university  houses,  where  the 
wits  and  the  teeth  were  equally  sharp.  There  the  inspiration  of 
hunger  raised  up  the  poor  masters  who  rendered  illustrious  the 
name  capettes  ;  their  food  was  poor,  but  their  privileges  ample  ; 
they  were  dependent,  in  matters  of  confession,  neither  on  the 
bishop  of  Paris  nor  on  the  pope." — Michelet,  ''Hist,  de  Erance." 

Behind  the  Bibliothèque  St.  Geneviève,  with  an  en- 
trance beyond  it,  is  the  College  St.  Barbe,  probably  founded 
in  1460  by  Geoffroy  Normant.  Its  most  illustrious  scholars 
have  been  St.  Ignatius  Loyola  and  St.  François  Xavier, 


358  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

who  joined  Loyola  here  when  he  left  the  Collège  de  Beau- 
vais.  Closed  during  the  Revolution,  this  college  was  re- 
opened in  1800,  under  the  title  of  Collège  des  Sciences  et 
des  Arts.  It  was  enlarged  in  1841.  Only  separated  from 
this  by  the  Rue  de  Reims,  was  the  Collège  de  Reims, 
founded  early  in  the  XV.  c.  by  Guy  de  Roye,  Archbishop 
of  Rheims  ;  it  perished  at  the  Revolution.  The  Collège  de 
Fortef^  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rue  des  Sept  Voies,  was 
founded,  in  1391,  by  Pierre  Fortet,  canon  of  Notre  Dame, 
for  eight  scholars.  It  was  here,  in  a  chamber  then  in- 
habited by  Boucher,  Curé  de  St.  Benoît,  that  the  Ligue 
had  its  origin.  The  buildings  of  this  little  college  still 
exist,  and  possess  an  hexagonal  tower,  enclosing  a  stair- 
case. 

Beyond  the  Bibliothèque,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  des 
Cholets  and  Rue  Cujas  (formerly  St.  Etienne  des  Grès) 
stood  the  Collège  des  Cholets,  founded  for  poor  scholars 
of  the  dioceses  of  Beauvais  and  Amiens,  by  the  executors 
of  Cardinal  Jean  Cholet,  in  1295.  Its  site,  and  even  that 
of  the  street,  are  now  swallowed  up  by  buildings  of  the 
Lycée  Louis  le  Grand.  Opposite  the  college,  in  the  Rue 
St.  Etienne  des  Grès,  was  the  church  of  that  name,  which, 
as  an  oratory,  dated  from  the  VII.  c.  St.  François  de 
Sales  frequented  it  for  prayer  whilst  a  student  in  Paris. 
It  was  sold  and  pulled  down  at  the  Revolution,  but  its 
image  of  Notre  Dame  de  la  Bonne  Délivrance,  which  had 
once  great  celebrity,  still  exists  in  the  chapel  of  a  con- 
vent of  St.  Thomas  de  Villanueva,  in  the  Rue  de  Sèvres. 

The  College  Louis  le  Grand  owed  its  original  foundation 
to  Guillaume  Duprat,  Bishop  of  Clermont,  a  faithful  friend 
to  the  Jesuits,  whom  he  received,  when  persecuted,  in  his 
episcopal  residence,  and  to  whom  at  his  death,  in  1560,  he 
bequeathed  the  funds  necessary  for  founding  the  Collège 


COLLÈGE  LOUTS  LE    GRAND  359 

de  Clermont.     To  this,  the  Collège  de  Marmoutier  and 

the  Collège  de  Mans  were  afterwards  added  by  the  favor 

of  Louis  XIV.,  in  gratitude  for  which  his  name  was  given 

to  the  united  institution,  destined  to  become  the  favorite 

place  of  education  for  sons  of  illustrious  French  families. 

When  the  inscription  "  Collegium  Claromontanum  Socie- 

tatis  Jesu  "  over  the  gate  was  changed  to  "  Collegium  Lu- 

dovici  Magni,"  a  bold  hand  wrote — 

"  Sustulit  hinc  Jesum  posuitque  insignia  regis 
Impia  gens  :  alium  nescit  habere  deum." 

At  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  in  1763,  the  University 
took  possession  of  their  buildings,  and  made  them  its  prin- 
cipal centre.  Twenty-six  of  the  small  colleges  were  then 
suppressed  and  united  to  the  Collège  Louis  le  Grand,  only 
ten  colleges  altogether  being  allowed  to  prolong  their  ex- 
istence. At  the  Revolution  the  buildings  of  the  Collège 
Louis  le  Grand  were  used  as  a  prison  ;  under  the  first  em- 
pire it  became  the  Lycée  Impériale,  but  it  recovered  its 
old  name  at  the  Restoration, 

A  few  steps  lower  down  the  Rue  St.  Jacques  (on  the 
right)  stood  the  Collège  de  Plessis,  founded  in  1323  by 
Geoffroy  de  Plessis,  Abbé  de  Marmoutier,  and  restored  by 
Richelieu.  Opposite,  occupying  the  space  between  the 
Rue  St.  Jacques  and  the  Sorbonne,  was  the  Cloître  St. 
Benoît.  Its  church,  which  was  of  great  antiquity,  was 
originally  called  St.  Bacchus,  probably  from  some  asso- 
ciation with  a  vintagers'  feast.  Its  later  name  of  St. 
Benoît  le  Restourné  arose  from  its  altar  being  at  the  west, 
its  entrance  at  the  east  end  ;  after  François  I.  altered  it  to 
the  usual  plan  it  was  called  St.  Benoît  le  Bientourné.  It 
contained  an  immense  number  of  monuments,  including 
that  of  the  architect  Claude  Perrault,  now  preserved  at  the 
Hôtel  de  Cluny,  with  the  principal  portal  of  the  church. 


360  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

No.  2  Rue  St.  Benoît,  recently  destroyed,  was  the  house 
occupied  by  Desmarteaux,  the  engraver  for  the  painter 
Boucher,  and  had  an  entire  chamber  exquisitely  decorated 
by  his  hand. 

We  now  reach  the  College  de  Frafice,  first  of  the  literary 
and  scientific  institutions  of  the  kingdom.  It  was  founded 
by  François  I.  as  Collège  Royal,  and  afterwards  called 
Collège  des  Trois  Langues,  because  the  three  languages, 
Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  were  taught  there.  In  later 
times  it  was  superior  to  the  Sorbonne  in  its  teaching  of 
mathematics,  medicine,  and  surgery.  Colbert  founded  pro- 
fessorships here  of  Arabic  and  French  law,  and  history 
and  moral  philosophy  were  afterwards  added.  There  are 
now  twenty-eight  professors.  The  buildings  have  swal- 
lowed up  the  Collège  de  Tre'quier,  founded  in  1325  by 
Guillaume  de  Coetmahon  of  Tréquier,  and  the  Collège  de 
Cambrai,  or  des  Trois  Evêques,  which  dated  from  the 
XIII  c.  In  the  court  is  a  statue  of  G.  Bude  (1540).  The 
principal  front  is  approached  from  the  Rue  des  Ecoles  by 
a  handsome  staircase,  at  the  top  of  which  is  a  statue  of 
Claude  Bernard  by  Guillaume,  erected  1875. 

A  few  steps  along  the  modern  Rue  des  Ecoles,  and  a 
turn  to  the  left,  will  bring  us,  at  the  very  heart  of  Academic 
Paris,  to  the  Sorbonne — "■  le  Louvre  du  corps  enseignant." 

The  University  of  the  Sorbonne  was  founded  in  1256, 
by  Robert  de  Sorbonne  (or  Rathelois),  almoner  and  con- 
fessor of  St.  Louis,  who  persuaded  the  king,  instead  of 
founding  a  nunnery  on  that  site,  as  he  intended,  to 
institute  a  charity — "ad  opus  Congregationis  pauperum 
magistrorum,  Parisiensis,  in  theologia  studentium."  At 
first  it  was  only  a  humble  college  for  sixteen  poor  theo- 
logical students,  called  la  pauvre  7naiso?t,  and  its  professors 
pauvres  maîtres  ("  pauperes  magistri  ")  ;  but  these  soon  be- 


THE   SOR BONNE  361 

came  celebrated,  and  the  assembly  of  doctors  of  the 
Sorbonne  formed  a  redoubtable  tribunal,  which  judged 
without  appeal  all  theological  opinions  and  works,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  condemn  pope  and  kings.  The  stat- 
utes remained  the  same  in  1790  as  in  1290.  A  chronicler 
of  the  time  of  Henri  III.  speaks  of  the  Sorbonne  as 
"  thirty  or  forty  pedants,  besotted  masters  of  arts." 

"To  have  the  right  to  bear  the  title  of  '  Doctor  of  the  Sor- 
bonne,' the  candidate  had  to  have  studied  in  the  college,  to  have, 
for  ten  years,  argued,  disputed  and  sustained  divers  public  acts 
or  theses,  which  were  distinguished  into  viajor,  mhior,  sabbatical, 
tentative,  and  the  small  and  great  Sorbonic.  In  these  last,  the 
candidate  for  the  doctor's  degree  had  to  sustain,  without  drink- 
ing, eating  or  quitting  the  place,  the  attacks  of  twenty  assailants 
or  ergoteurs,  who  came  in  relays  of  half  an  hour  and  harassed 
him  from  six  in  the  morning  to  seven  in  the  evening. 

"The  habit  of  skirmishing  in  theology  on  subjects  of  useless 
or  often  dangerous  curiosity,  or  on  matters  demanding  the  most 
profound  submission,  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  diffuse 
in  the  nation  that  quarrelsome  disposition  which,  while  retarding 
the  reign  of  truth,  often  troubled  public  tranquillity  and  en- 
gendered so  many  errors,  which  a  barbarous  and  clumsy  policy 
believed  it  had  the  right  to  extinguish  by  erecting  gibbets,  dig- 
ging dungeons,  lighting  fires  around  the  stake,  and  by  making 
the  best  tempered  nation  into  a  people  of  cannibals." — Duvernet, 
^'Hist.  de  la  Sorbonne." 

It  was  here  that  the  disputes  between  the  Jesuists  and 
Jansenists  were  carried  on.  "Voilà  une  salle,  où  l'on 
dispute  depuis  quatre  cents  ans,"  said  one  of  the  doctors, 
as  he  was  showing  the  building  to  Casaubon.  "  Eh  bien  ! 
qu'est-ce  qu'on  a  decide  ?  "  he  answered.  It  was  of  this 
theatre  of  religious  argument  that  Pascal  said — "Qu'il 
étoit  plus  aisé  d'y  trouver  les  moins,  que  les  arguments." 

"The  Sorbonne  had  a  moral  jurisdiction  in  scholasticism. 
It  forced  John  XXII.  to  retract  his  theory  of  the  Beatific  Vision  ; 
it  declared  quinquina  an  accursed  bark,  and  thereupon  Parlia- 
ment forbade  quinquina  to  effect  any  cuxqs"— Victor  Hugo. 


362  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Whatever,  however,  may  have  been  the  folHes  of  the 
Sorbonne,  it  will  always  possess  the  honor  of  having 
established  within  its  walls  the  first  printing-press  known 
in  Paris. 

The  collegiate  buildings  were  reconstructed  by  Jacques 
Lemercier  for  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who  was  elected  Grand- 
Master  in  1622.  He  incorporated  with  the  Sorbonne  the 
Collège  Duplessis,  founded  (1322)  by  Geoffroy  Duplessis, 
Secretary  of  Philippe  le  Long.  The  little  Collège  de  Calvi 
or  des  Dix-Huit  was  also  swallowed  up  by  the  site  of  the 
Church,  built  1629-59,  with  a  stately  dome.  It  is  entered 
from  the  principal  quadrangle  of  the  college,  remarkable 
for  its  curious  sun-dials,  and  is  adorned  internally  with 
paintings  of  the  Latin  Fathers  by  Philippe  de  Champaigne. 
The  bare  interior  is  very  fine  in  its  proportions.  An 
inscription  records  the  restoration  of  the  church  by 
Napoleon  HI.,  "régnante  gloriosissime." 

"  It  is  a  church  of  no  very  great  dimensions,  being  about  150 
feet  in  length,  and  its  dome  40  feet  in  diameter  internally.  .The 
western  façade  has  the  usual  arrangement  of  two  stories,  the 
lower  one  of  corinthian  three-quarter  columns,  surmounted  by 
pilasters  of  the  same  order  above,  and  the  additional  width  of 
the  aisle  being  made  out  by  a  gigantic  console.  The  front  of  the 
transept  towards  the  court  is  better,  being  ornamented  with  a 
portico  of  detached  columns  on  the  lower  story,  with  a  great 
semicircular  window  above  ;  and  the  dome  rises  so  closely  be- 
hind the  wall  that  the  whole  comp'osition  is  extremely  pleasing." — 
Fergus  s  on. 

The  right  transept  contains  the  tomb  of  Richelieu,  by 
François  Girardon  (1694).  The  cardinal  is  represented 
reclining  in  death  in  the  arms  of  Religion,  who  holds  the 
book  he  wrote  in  her  defence.  A  weeping  woman  is 
intended  for  Science,  and  these  two  figures  are  portraits 
of  the  cardinal's  nieces,  the  Duchesses  de  Guyon  and  de 
Fronsac.      In   its  time  this   was   regarded  as  the  finest 


THE   SORBONNE  363 

monument  of  funereal  sculpture  in  the  world.  Alexandre 
Lenoir,  to  whose  energy  and  self-sacrifice  Paris  owes  all 
the  historic  sculpture  it  still  preserves,  was  wounded  by  a 
bayonet  while  making  a  rampart  of  his  body  to  protect  it 
from  the  mob  in  the  Revolution,  when  he  succeeded  in 
removing  it  to  the  Petits  Augustin  s. 

"Cardinal  Richelieu  died  December  4,  1642.  'He  was  a 
great  statesman,'  said  the  king,  when  he  heard  of  his  death. 
Posterity  has  confirmed  this  judgment." — Balzac,  ''Six  rois  de 
France." 

"  He  respected  no  rule  of  equity  or  morality.  He  confessed 
himself,  'When  I  have  once  formed  a  resolution,  I  go  on  to  the 
end  ;  overthrow  everything,  cut  down  everything,  and  then 
cover  all  with  my  red  cassock.'  Bussi-Rabutin  says  that  under 
Richelieu  the  king  counted  for  nothing." — Dulaure,  ''Hist,  de 
Paris  sous  Lotcis  XIII." 

The  grave  of  Richelieu  was  violated  at  the  Revolution, 
and  his  head,  which  was  carried  off  and  paraded  through 
the  streets  on  a  pike,  was  only  restored  to  its  resting-place 
in  1867.  Above  the  tomb  is  a  large  fresco  representing 
Theology  and  all  those  who  have  illustrated  it. 

In  the  opposite  transept  is  a  monument  to  the  gay 
Lothario,  Maréchal  Duc  de  Richelieu,  minister  of  Louis 
XVIIL,  by  Ramey. 

A  great  picture  by  Hesse  represents  Robert  Sorbonne 
presenting  the  pupils  in  theology  to  St.  Louis. 

"In  the  month  of  October,  1832,  there  was  written  above  a 
door,  in  the  Place  de  Sorbonne,  '  Constitutional  Church  of 
France.'  The  day  when  such  an  inscription  has  been  quietly 
engraved  on  the  front  of  the  Sorbonne,  it  ceased  to  live.  The 
history  henceforth  will  begin  with  a  funeral  ox2i\.\on."— Antoine 
de  Latour. 

The  Boulevard  St.  Michel,  running  in  front  of  the  Place 
de  la  Sorbonne,  has  swept  away  the  Rue  des  Maçons, 
where  Racine  lived  for  a  time,  and  where  Dulaure  died. 


364  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

It  crosses  the  site  of  the  Collège  du  Trésorier,  founded 
(1268)  by  Guillaume  de  Saana,  treasurer  of  the  cathedral 
of  Rouen  ;  and  of  the  Collège  de  Cluny,  founded  (in  1269) 
by  Yves  de  Vergy,  Abbot  of  Cluny.  The  chapel  of  this 
college  was  a  model  of  architectural  loveliness,  and  has 
been  thought  worthy  of  being  compared  with  the  Sainte 
Chapelle,  as  it  had  the  same  delicacy  of  sculpture  and  the 
same  elegance  of  proportions.  It  was  filled  with  rich  stall- 
work,  and  its  pavement  was  composed  of  gravestones  of 
abbots,  two  of  which — of  1349  and  1360 — were  removed, 
with  the  rose-windows,  to  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny,  on  the 
destruction  of  the  building  in  1834.  Close  by,  where  the 
Rue  M.  le  Prince  now  falls  into  the  boulevard,  was  the 
Port  St.  Michel  (on  the  wall  of  Philippe  Auguste)  destroyed 
1684.  Just  beyond,  the  Lycée  St.  Louis  now  occupies  the 
site  of  the  Collège  d'Harcourt,  founded  by  Raoul  d'Har- 
court  in  1280:  it  was  closed  at  the  Revolution,  but  re- 
established, under  a  new  name,  by  Louis  XVIII.  A  little 
lower  down  was  the  Collège  de  Justice,  at  the  corner  of 
the  Rue  de  la  Harpe,  founded  (1354)  by  the  executors  of 
Jean  de  Justice,  Canon  of  Bayeux.  Opposite,  on  a  site 
now  covered  by  the  boulevard,  were  the  little  colleges  of 
Narbonne  (1307),  Bayeux  (1308),  and  Secy  (1428).  The 
gate  of  the  last  is  now  at  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny.  The  Collège 
Sts.  Come  et  Damien,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  de  la 
Harpe  and  Rue  de  l'Ecole  de  Médecine,  was  founded 
early  in  the  XIII.  c.  ;  its  chapel  contained  the  tomb  of 
Nicolas  de  Bèze,  with  an  inscription  (by  his  nephew, 
Théodore  de  Bèze,  the  famous  Calvinist)  in  Greek,  Latin, 
and  French.  The  college,  sold  at  the  Revolution,  was 
demolished  in  1836,  to  enlarge  the  Rue  Racine. 

It  is  now  a  few  steps  right,  or,  if  we  have  evaded  these 
forgotten  sites,  the  Rue  de  la  Sorbomie  will  lead  us  down- 


HÔTEL    DE    CL  UN  Y 


36s 


hill  into  the  J^ue  de  Sommerard,  opposite  the  famous  Hôtel 
de  Climy,  which  is  open  daily  to  the  public  except  on  Mon- 
days and  fete-days — from  11  to  5  from  April  i  to  Septem- 
ber 30;  from  II  to  4  from  October  i  to  March  31. 

"L'hôtel  de  Cluny,  qui  subsiste  encore  pour  la  consolation 
de  l'artiste." —  Victor  Htigo. 

The  site  of  the  ancient  Roman  Baths  was  bought  by 


HOTEL  DE   CLUNY   (WEST  WING). 


the  Abbot  Pierre  de  Chalus  for  the  Abbey  of  Cluny,  and 
its  abbots  decided  to  build  a  palace  there  as  their  town 
residence.  This  was  begun  by  Abbot  Jean  de  Bourbon, 
bastard  of  John,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  finished  by 
Jacques  d'Amboise,  Abbot  of  Jumieges,  and  Bishop  of 
Clermont,  sixth  brother  of  the  Minister  of  Louis  XII. 
Coming  seldom  to  Paris,  however,  the  Abbots  of  Cluny  let 
their  hotel  to  various  distinguished  personages  :  thus  Mary 
of  England,  widow  of  Louis  XII.,  lived  there  for  a  time 


366 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


after  her  husband's  death,  and  was  married  there  to  Charles 
Brandon,  Duke  of  Suffolk.  Here  also  James  V.  of  Scot- 
land was  married  to  Madeleine,  daughter  of  François  I. 
The  Cardinal  de  Lorraine,  his  nephew  the  Due  de  Guise, 
and  the  Due  d'Aumale,  were  living  here  in  1565.     After- 


•'•  ,r*     •  7    )i3^'Ki*-';fi''-.  >■.,'■->.■* 


HOTEL  DE  CLUNY   (eAST   WING). 


wards  the  hotel  was  inhabited  by  actors,  then  by  nuns  of 
Port  Royal.  In  the  early  part  of  the  XIX.  c.  the  illus- 
trious antiquarian  M.  de  Sommerard  bought  the  hotel 
and  filled  it  with  his  beautiful  collection  of  works  of  art, 
and  the  whole  was  purchased  by  the  State  after  his  death. 
Approaching  from  the  Rue  de  Sommerard,  by  a  gate 


HOTEL   DE    CLUNY  ^5^ 

surmounted  by  the  arms  of  the  Abbey  of  Cluny,  we  find 
the  principal  building  flanked  by  two  wings.  A  many- 
sided  tower  projects  from  the  front,  containing  a  stone 
staircase,  and  bearing  the  rose-medallions  and  cockle- 
shells of  St.  James,  in  allusion  to  the  builder  Jacques 
d'Amboise.       Opposite   to   this   i^   an  old   well  from  the 


HOTEL  DE  CLUNY  (chAPEl). 

manor  of  Tristan  I'Hermite,  near  Amboise.  The  building 
on  the  west  is  the  most  richly  decorated  portion  of  the 
whole.  On  the  north  side  of  the  hotel,  towards  the  gar- 
den, are  a  beautiful  bay-window  and  a  vaulted  hall  called 
la  chapelle  basse,  the  upper  floor  being  supported  by  a 
single  column,  on  the  capital  of  which  are  seen  the  arms 
of  Jacques   d'Amboise    and  a  crowned    K   (Karolus)  for 


368  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Charles  VIII.  A  gothic  flamboyant  staircase  leads  from 
this  hall  to  the  chapel,  which  is  on  the  first  floor.  The 
east  wing  formerly  contained,  on  its  ground  floor,  the 
kitchens  of  the  hotel.  The  great  circle  traced  on  the  wall 
on  this  side  is  supposed  to  mark  the  dimensions  of  the 
famous  bell  of  Rouen,  known  as  Georges  d'Amboise,  which 
is  said  to  have  been  cast  in  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny,  The 
open  balustrade  above  the  first  floor,  the  chimneys  and  the 
windows  in  the  roof,  are  of  marvellous  richness  and  beauty. 
The  interior  of  the  hotel  is  as  interesting  as  the  exterior. 
The  room  called  La  Chambre  de  la  Reine  Blanche  takes  its 
name  from  the  white  weeds  of  the  widowed  Queens  of 
France,  which  Mary  of  England  wore  when  she  inhabited 
it.  The  vaulting  of  the  exquisitely  graceful  chapel  rests 
on  a  single  pillar. 

In  this  beautiful  and  harmonious  old  house  all  the 
principal  rooms  are  now  occupied  by  an  archaeological 
museum  of  the  greatest  interest.  The  building,  furniture, 
and  ornaments  are  in  perfect  keeping.  The  precious  con- 
tents are  all  named  and  catalogued,  but  not  arranged  ac- 
cording to  their  numbers.  As  historic  objects  or  memo- 
rials of  old  France  we  may  especially  notice  when  we  meet 
with  them — 

56.  The  original  central  pillar  of  the  Porte  St.  Anne  of 
Notre  Dame,  with  the  figure  of  St,  Marcel.  Replaced 
in  the  cathedral  by  a  copy. 

86.  Porch  of  the  Benedictine  cloister  at  Argenteuil,  demol- 
ished 1855. 

88,  89.  XIII.  c.  fragments  from  the  famous  tower  of  the 
Commanderie  de  St.  Jean  de  Latran  at  Paris,  destroyed 

1854. 

107.  Column  from  the  church  of  the  Collège  de  Cluny,  de- 
stroyed 1859,  for  the  Boulevard  St.  Michel. 

135.  Principal  entrance  of  the  Collège  de  Bayeux,  destroyed 
1859,  for  the  Boulevard  de  Sébastopol. 


HOTEL   DE    CL  UN  Y  369 

137.  Principal  portal  of  the  church  of  St.  Benoît,  destroyed 
in  making  the  Rue  des  Ecoles. 

160.  Curious  tombstone  of  the  XV.  c,  from   the  destro)^ed 

church  of  St.  Benoît. 

161.  A    monument  with    symbols    of  pilgrimage.      From  St. 

Benoît, 
164,  165.  Sculptures  from  St.  Gervais  of  Paris.     XIV.  c. 

188.  Splendid  XV.  c.  chimney-piece  from  a  house  at  Le  Mans. 

189.  Chimney-piece,  XV.  c,  from  Le  Mans. 

191.  Chimney-piece,    by    Hugues    Lallement    (1562),    from    a 

house  at  Chalons-sur-Marne. 

192.  Chimney-piece,   XVL    c,  by  Hugues   Lallement,    from 

Chalons-sur-Marne. 

193.  Chimney-piece  of  XVL  c,  from  Troyes. 

194.  Chimney-piece,  XVL  c,  from  the  Rue  de  la  Croix  de 

Fer,  at  Rouen. 

196-201.  Sculptures  from  the  old  Louvre. 

208.  Portal  of  the  house  of  Queen  Blanche,  Rue  du  Foin  St. 
Jacques,  destroyed  1858,  in  making  the  Boulevard  St. 
Germain. 

233.  XVn.  c.  obelisk  from  the  Cimetière  des  Innocents. 

237.  Retable  of  the  high-altar  of  the  St.  Chapelle  of  St. 
Germain,  built  by  Pierre  de  Wuessencourt,  in  1259. 
An  exquisite  relief  of  XIIL  c. 

242-246.  Statues  from  the  church  of  St.  Jacques  in  the  Rue 
St.  Denis.     Attributed  to  Robert  de  Launoy. 

251.  The  Virgin  of  the  Priory  of  Arbois,  late  XV.  c, 

259-261.  Sepulchral  statues  from  the  chapel  of  the  Château 
of  Arbois. 

329.  Tomb  of  an  abbess  of  Montmartre. 
*345.  Tomb  of  the  philanthropist   Nicolas  Flamel,   from   the 

old  church  of  St.  Jacques  de  la  Boucherie.     1418. 
*40i.   Statue  of  the  emperor  Julian,  found  at  Paris. 

422-426.  Tombs  of  the  French  Grand-Masters  of  the  Knights 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  ;  brought  from  Rhodes. 

428,  429.  Figures  of  monks  executed  by  Claux  Sluter,  for 
Philippe  le  Hardi. 

430,  431.   Figures  from  the  tomb  of  Philippe  le  Hardi.  XIV.  c. 
*448.  The  Three  Fates,  attributed  to  Germain  Pilon,  and  sup- 
posed to  represent  Diane  de  Poitiers  and  her  daugh- 
ters.    From  the  gardens  of  the   Hôtel  Soicourt,  Rue 
de  l'Université. 


270  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

449.  Diane  de  Poitiers  as  Ariadne.     XVI.  c.     Found  in  the 

Loire,  opposite  the  Château  de  Chaumont, 

450.  Venus  and  Cupid,  by  Jean  Cousin.     XVI.  c. 

451.  Catherine  de  Medicis  as  Juno.     A  medallion  from  Anet, 

probably  by  Germain  Pilon.     XVI.  c. 
456.   "  Le  Sommeil."     XVI.  c. 

710.  Great  retable  of  abbey  of  Everborn  near  Liege.     XV.  c. 
764-767.  A  retable  representing  the  Creed,  from  the  abbey  of 

St.  Riquier.      1587. 
1025.   Reliquary  from  the  abbey  of  St.    Yved  of    Braisne-en- 

Soissonais.     Ivory  of  XII.  c. 
1035.   Ivory  relief  of  the  marriage  of  Otho  I.,  Emperor  of  the 

East,  with  Théophane,  daughter  of  Romanus  II.    X.  c. 
1055.  Mirror    case    representing    St.    Louis   and   his    mother 

Queen  Blanche.     From  the  treasury  of  St.  Denis. 
*I079.   "Oratoire  des   Duchesses   de   Bourgogne."     A   set  of 

pictures  in  ivory  of  XIV.  c.     From  the  Chartreux  of 

Dijon. 
1080.   Id.     Ivories  of  the  life  of  Christ. 
1152.   "L'insouciance  du  jeune  âge."     An  ivory  statuette  by 

Duquesnoy.     XVII.  c. 
1337.  Coffre  de  Mariage.     From  the  château  of  Loches. 
1424.  Cabinet  of  time  of  Henry  II.     From  the  abbey  of  Clair- 

vaux. 
1679.   Mary  Magdalen  at  Marseilles.     A  painting  on  wood  by 

King  René  of  Provence.     XV.  c. 
1682.  Coronation  of  Louis  XII.    A  painting  on  wood.    XV.  c. 
1742.  Venus  and  Cupid.      Portrait  of    Diane  de  Poitiers  by 

Primaticcio.     XVI.  c. 
1746.  Portrait  of  Marie  Gaudin,    Dame  de   la   Bourdaisière, 

first   mistress   of    François   I.,   at   that   time    Due  de 

Valois. 
1761.  The   head    of  St.    Martha,  given   by  Louis   XI.    to   the 

church  of  St.  Martha  at  Tarascon.     1478. 
4498.  Reliquary  of  St.   Fausta,  in  enamel  of  Limoges.     XIII. 

c.     From  the  treasury  of  Ségry,  near  Issoudun. 
4979-4987.  Golden  crowns  found  at  La  Fuente  de  Guarrazar, 

near  Toledo. 
*4988.  Golden  altar  of  Henry  II.  (St.  Henry)  of  Germany,  given 

by  him  {c.  1019)  to  the  cathedral   of  Basle,   where  it 

escaped  destruction  in  the  crypt  till  1824,  when  it  was 

sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  canton.     This  is  perhaps 


HOTEL   DE   CLUNY  3^1 

the  most  precious  object  in  the  collection.  The  me- 
dallions represent  the  cardinal  virtues.  In  the  centre 
Sts.  Henry  and  Cunegunda  kneel  at  the  feet  of  the 
Saviour  ;  on  the  right  are  Sts.  Michael  and  Benedict  ; 
on  the  left  Sts.  Gabriel  and  Raphael.  Two  Latin 
verses  contain  a  prayer  and  3.  mystic  explanation  of 
the  names  of  the  three  angels. 
5005.  "  La  rose  d'or  de  Bale."  Given  by  Clement  V.  to  the 
Prince  Bishop  of  Basle.     XIV.  c. 

5015.  Reliquary  of  St.  Anne,  by  Hans  Greiff.     1472. 

5016.  Silver  reliquary  from  the  treasury  of  Basle.     XV.  c. 
5064.  Cross  of  the  abbots  of  ClairVaux  in  gilt  copper.    XII.  c. 

7386.  Tombstone   with   the   epitaph   of    Anne   of    Burgundy, 

Duchess  of  Bedford.     XV.  c.     From  the  church  of 
the  Célestins. 

7387.  Epitaph  of  Pierre  de  Ronsard  on  the  death  of  Charles 

de  Boudeville,     1571. 

7398.  Coffin-plate  of  King  Louis  XIV.     From  St.  Denis. 

7399.  Coffin-plate  of  Marie  Adélaïde  de  Savoie,  wife   of  the 

Due  de  Bourgogne,  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.     1712. 
From  St.  Denis. 

7400.  Cofl5n-plate   of  Louise    Elizabeth   de    France   (Madame 

rinfante,  eldest  daughter  of  Louis  XV.),  who  died  at 
Versailles,  1769.     From  St.  Denis. 

7404.  Coffin-plate  of  Henriette  Catherine  de  Joyeuse,  Duchesse 

de    Montpensier.      1656.      From    the   convent   of  the 
Capucines. 

7405.  Gravestone  of  Louise  Henriette  de  Bourbon,  Duchesse 

d'Orléans,    daughter   of    Louis   XIV.    and    Mme   de 
Montespan. 
7408.   Heart   (enclosed    in    lead)   of    Louis    de   Luxembourg, 
Comte  de  Roussy.     1571.     From  the  Célestins. 

In  a  modern  side-room  is  an  interesting  collection  of 
carriages,  sledges,  sedan  chairs,  &c.,  of  the  XVIL  c.  and 
XVIII.  c,  including — 

6951.  Carriage  of  the  Tanara  family  of  Bologna,  supposed  to 

have  belonged  to  Paul  V.  (Camillo   Borghese,  1603- 
1621). 

6952.  State  carriage  of  a  French  ambassador  to  Milan,  under 

Louis  XV. 


372  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

6961.  The  little  carriage  which  served  as  a  model  for  the  coro- 
nation coach  of  Louis  XV. 

The  Roman  remains,  always  known  as  Palais  des 
Thermes,  in  the  garden  adjoining  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny, 
probably  belong  to  buildings  erected  a.d.  300,  when 
Paris  was  a  Gallo-Roman  town,  by  Constantius  Chlorus. 
It  has  been  sometimes  affirmed  that  the  Emperor  Julian 
the  Apostate  was  proclaimed  and  resided  here,  but  it  is  far 
more  probable  that  he  lived  on  the  island  in  the  Seine,  and 
that  these  buildings  were  simply  those  of  magnificent 
baths.  The  most  perfect  part  of  the  baths  is  a  great  hall, 
decided  to  have  been  the  frigidarium,  which  is  exceed- 
ingly massive  and  majestic  ;  of  the  tepidarium,  only  the 
ruined  walls  remain. 

"Nothing  had  been  spared  to  make  the  Palais  des  Thermes 
a  truly  splendid  abode.  An  aqueduct  brought  pure  and  whole- 
some water  from  the  springs  of  Rungis,  that  is,  about  three 
leagues  from  the  centre  of  Paris.  For  the  longest  part  of  its 
course  it  was  underground,  but  it  crossed  the  valley  of  Arcueil 
by  a  series  of  high  arches,  some  foundations  of  which  time  has 
respected,  admirably  constructed  and  finished  like  the  walls  of 
the  hall  of  the  Thermes." — De  Guilhermy. 

Some  columns  and  a  large  corinthian  capital,  preserved 
in  the  Frigidarium,  were  found  in  the  Parvis  Notre  Dame, 
and  are  interesting  as  probable  remnants  of  the  original 
basilica  of  Childebert.  Here  also  are  the  original  XI.  c. 
capitals  of  St.  Germain  des  Pre's.  In  the  gardens  are  pre- 
served other  architectural  fragments,  such  as  the  portals 
of  the  old  church  of  St.  Benoît  and  of  the  Collège  de 
Bayeux,  three  romanesque  arches  from  the  Abbey  of  Ar- 
genteuil,  &c.  The  door  which  leads  to  the  garden  from 
the  court  of  the  hotel  comes  from  the  house  called  Maison 
de  la  Reine  Blanche  (of  temp.  Henri  IL)  at  the  angle  of 
the  Rues  de  Boutebrie  and  du  Foin. 


ST.    SE  VERIN  273 

The  Théâtre  de  Cluny  occupies  the  site  of  the  convent 
of  Les  Mathurins.  A  very  ancient  chapel  existed  liere,  in 
which  the  body  of  St.  Mathurin  was  buried  and  performed 
miracles.  Here  the  order  called  "  Religieux  de  la  St. 
Trinité  de  la  Rédemption  des  Captifs,"  founded  by  St. 
Giovanni  de  Matha,  found  a  refuge  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  XIII.  c.  They  were  protected  by  St.  Louis,  who 
helped  them  to  erect  a  convent.  This  was  rebuilt  in  the 
XVI.  c.  by  Robert  Gaguin,  theologian  and  diplomatist, 
who  was  buried  in  its  church,  before  the  high-altar.  Be- 
fore the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  gave  the  Collège  de  Louis 
le  Grand  to  the  University,  its  chief  meetings  were  held 
here.  It  was  hither  that  it  summoned  its  general  assem- 
blies ;  here  that  it  recognized  as  king  Philippe  V.,  second 
son  of  Philippe  le  Bel,  and  here  that  it  protested  against 
the  bull  "  Unigenitus."  The  conventual  buildings  per- 
ished in  the  Revolution.  In  the  Rue  Mathurin  the  Li- 
brairie Delalain  was  the  house  of  Catinat.  Just  opposite 
the  Palais  des  Thermes  was  the  old  hotel  of  the  Comtes 
d'Harcourt,  destroyed  in  the  XVII.  c. 

Along  the  side  of  the  opposite  Rtie  de  Boutebrie  ran 
the  buildings  of  the  Collège  de  Maître  Gervais,  founded 
in  the  XIV.  c.  (by  a  canon  of  Bayeux  and  Paris,  who  was 
physician  to  Charles  le  Sage),  as  a  college  of  astrology 
and  medicine. 

The  Rue  de  Boutebrie  leads  to  the  fine  church  of  St. 
Séverm,  one  of  the  best  gothic  buildings  in  Paris,  said  to 
occupy  the  site  of  a  hermitage  where  St.  Séverin  lived  in 
the  VI.  c,  under  Childebert  I.  The  oratory  on  the  site  of 
the  hermitage  was  sacked  by  the  Normans.  It  was  rebuilt 
in  the  XI.  c.  as  "  Ecclesia  Sancti  Severi  Solitarii."  But 
to  the  worship  of  the  sainted  hermit  the  people  afterwards 
united  that  of  another  St.  S.lverin,  Bishop  of  Agaune,  who 


374  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

gave  the  monastic  habit  to  St.  Cloud,  and  who  miracu- 
lously cured  King  Clovis  by  laying  his  chasuble  upon  him. 
In  former  days  this  church  was  held  in  great  estimation. 
One  of  its  chapels  was  dedicated  to  St.  Martin,  especially 
invoked  by  travellers,  and  its  door  was  covered  with  horse- 
shoes deposited  there  for  good  luck  ;  whilst  travellers  about 
to  ride  a  great  distance  would  brand  their  horses'  hoofs 
with  the  church-key,  made  red  hot  for  the  purpose.  At 
Pentecost  a  great  flight  of  pigeons  used  to  be  sent  down 
during  mass  through  holes  in  the  vaulting,  to  typify  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  principal  porch  had  the 
figure  of  a  lion  on  either  side,  seated  between  which  the 
magistrates  of  the  town  administered  justice  :  whence 
many  judgments  end  with  "  donne  entre  les  deux  lions."  ^ 

The  church  has  been  frequently  enlarged  and  modern- 
ized, but  the  three  western  compartments  of  the  nave,  the 
triforium  of  the  fourth,  with  the  tower,  portal,  and  lower 
part  of  the  façade,  are  of  1210  ;  the  rest  of  the  nave,  aisles, 
and  choir  probably  of  1347  ;  the  apse  and  its  chapels,  of 
1489.  The  early  XIII.  c.  portal  of  the  façade  formerly 
belonged  to  St.  Pierre  aux  Bœufs  in -the  Cité,  and  was 
brought  here  on  the  destruction  of  that  church  in  1837  ; 
but  the  bas-relief  of  the  tympanum  is  modern.  The  portal 
preserves  its  XVII.  c.  doors,  adorned  with  medallions  of 
Sts.  Peter  and  Paul.  There  are  double  aisles,  besides 
the  side  chapels  ;  behind  the  high-altar  is  a  twisted  col- 
umn. South  of  the  choir  are  remains  of  a  XV.  c.  cloister, 
the  only  one  in  Paris  except  that  of  les  Billettes.  To  the 
right  of  the  chevet  is  the  XVII.  c.  chapel  of  Notre  Dame 
d'Espérance,  containing  a  "miraculous"  Virgin.  The 
other  chapels  contain  an  immense  number  of  pictures  of 
the   French  school.      The  baldacchino  was  erected  from 

^  Lebœuf. 


ST.    SE  VERIN 


375 


designs  of  Lebrun,  at  the  expense  of  Mlle  de  Montpensier. 
The  ancient  rood-loft,  erected  (in  141 4)  by  a  bequest  of 
Antoine  de  Compaigne  and  his  wife  Oudette,  was  de- 
stroyed in  the  XVII.  c.  With  three  unimportant  excep- 
tions all  the  ancient  monuments  have  perished,  but  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  XV.  c.  and  XVI.  c.  stained  glass. 

"The  church  of  St.  Séverin  is  one  of  the  first  of  Paris  in 
which  organs  were  seen.  They  were  there  in  the  reign  of  King 
John,  but  of  small  size  ;  the  church  too  was  then  neither  so  long 
nor  so  wide.  I  have  seen  an  extract  from  a  manuscript  necrology 
of  the  church,  to  this  effect  :  '  The  year  1358,  the  Monday  after 
Ascension,  master  Reynaud  de  Douy,  scholar  in  theology  at 
Paris  and  governor  of  the  high  schools  of  the  parish  of  St.  Sé- 
verin, gave  to  the  church  a  good  organ  in  good  condition.'  Those 
that  were  shown,  down  to  1747,  in  the  tower  of  the  church,  were  not 
made  till  1512." — Lebœiif,  "  Hisf.  de  la  ville  et  du  diocese  de  Parish 

It  was  publicly,  in  the  churchyard  of  St.  Séverin,  that 
the  first  operation  for  stone  took  place,  in  January,  1474, 
on  the  person  of  a  soldier,  condemned  to  be  hanged  for 
theft,  and  who,  when  it  succeeded,  was  pardoned  and  re- 
warded. ^  The  dissection  of  a  dead  body  was  considered 
sacrilegious  till  the  time  of  François  I. 

Over  the  gate  which  led  from  the  Cimetière  de  St.  Sé- 
verin to  the  Rue  de  la  Parcheminerie  was  inscribed — 

"  Passarit,  penses-tu  passer  par  ce  passage. 
Où,  pensant,  j'ai  passé? 
Si  tu  n'y  penses  pas,  passant,  tu  n'es  pas  sage  ; 
Car  en  n'y  pensant  pas,  tu  te  verras  passé."'' 

"Alfred  de  Musset  was  born  December  11,  1810,  in  the  cen- 
tre of  old  Paris,  near  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny,  in  a  house  which  still 
bears  the  number  33  Rue  de  Noyers.  At  No.  37  lived  his  grand- 
father Desherbiers,  and  his  great-aunt  who  owned  a  garden  run- 
ning to  the  old  church  of  St.  John  Latran.  All  Mme  Denoux's 
grand-nephews  learned  to  walk  in  this  garden." — Paul  de  Musset. 

A  few  steps  west  from  the  Hôtel  de  Cluny  bring  us  to 

»  Chronique  de  Louis  XI.  -  Dulaure,  Hist,  de  Paris, 


3^6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  modern  Place  St.  Michel,  with  a  great  fountain  of  i860, 
decorated  with  a  group  of  St.  Michael  and  the  Dragon,  by 
Duret.  The  site  was  once  of  interest  as  being  that  (at  the 
angle  of  the  Rue  de  la  Harpe  and  Rue  St.  André  des 
Arts)  where  a  fountain  and  mutilated  statue  marked  the 
treachery  of  Perinet  le  Clerc,  who  opened  here  the  Porte 
St.  Germain  (afterwards  Porte  de  Buci)  in  14 18  to  the 
Burgundians,  an  act  which  led  to  the  murder  of  the  Comte 
d'Armagnac  at  the  Conciergerie,  and  a  general  massacre 
of  his  adherents.  It  was  in  the  Pue  delà  Harpe  that  Mme 
Roland  was  living  at  the  time  of  her  arrest.  The  Boule- 
vard St.  Michel  now  swallows  up  the  greater  part  of  the 
Rue  de  la  Harpe,  and  also  of  the  Rue  d'Enfer.  The  Place, 
Boulevard,  and  PoJit  St.  Michel  take  their  name  from  a 
destroyed  church  on  the  island.  On  the  centre  of  the 
bridge  stood  an  equestrian  statue  of  Louis  XHI.,  destroyed 
in  the  Revolution. 

The  Quai  des  Augustins,  which  stretches  along  the 
bank  of  the  Seine,  west  from  the  Place  St.  Michel,  com- 
memorates a  famous  convent.  The  "  Hermits  of  St.  Au- 
gustine," as  they  were  officially  called,  had  their  first  con- 
vent in  Paris  in  a  street  off  the  Rue  Montmartre,  now 
called  Rue  des  Vieux  Augustins  ;  their  second  convent 
was  near  the  Porte.  St.  Victor.  This  was  their  third,  and 
here,  August  10,  1652,  occurred  that  combat  between  the 
monks  and  the  royal  archers  which  made  La  Fontaine  run 
across  the  Pont  Neuf,  exclaiming  "  Je  vais  voir  tuer  les 
Augustins  !  "  In  the  church,  built  by  Charles  V.,  Henri 
III.  instituted  the  Order  of  the  St.  Esprit  ;  the  child  Louis 
XIII.  was  proclaimed  King,  and  Marie  de  Medicis 
Regent  ;  and  many  French  ecclesiastical  assemblies  were 
held.     The  historian  Philippe  de  Commines  and  his  wife,^ 

^  Their  statues  are  now  in  the  Louvre. 


HOTEL   D'HERCULE 


377 


and  the  XVI.  c.  poet  Rémi  Belleau,  were  amongst  those 
buried  there.  The  church  was  pulled  down  in  the  Revo- 
lution. In  the  Rue  des  Grands  Augustms,  Nos.  3,  5,  and 
7  belong  to  the  Hotel  d^ Hercule,  inhabited  by  François  I. 
in  his  youth,  and  given  by  him,  in  the  first  year  of  his 


HÔTEL   d'hercule. 

reign,  to  the  Chancellor  Duprat,  by  whom  it  was  greatly 
enlarged  and  embellished. 

Under  François  I.  the  Hôtel  d'Hercule  communicated 
with  a  hotel  of  the  Duchesse  d'Etampes,  in  the  Rue  de 
l'Hirondelle,  which  was  richly  decorated  with  the  sala- 
manders of  François  and  other  emblems.  "  De  toutes  ses 
devises,"  says   Sauvai,  "  qu'on  voyoit   il  n'y  a  pas  encore 


378  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

long-tems,  je  n'ai  pu  me  ressouvenir  que  de  celle  ci; 
c'estoit  un  cœur  enflamme',  placé  entre  un  alpha  et  un 
omega,  pour  dire  apparément,  il  brûlera  toujours."  The 
house  was  still  well  preserved  when  Sauvai  saw  it.  "  Les 
murs,"  he  says  in  his  Galanteries  des  rois  de  France,  "sont 
couverts  de  tant  d'ornements  et  si  finis,  qu'il  paroît  bien 
que  c'estoit  un  petit  palais  d'amour,  ou  la  maison  des 
menus  plaisirs  de  François  I." 

The  Rue  St.  André  des  Arts  (which  turns  south-west 
from  the  Place  St.  Michel)  commemorates  the  church  of 
that  name,  a  beautiful  gothic  building,  with  a  renaissance 
façade,  demolished  at  the  Revolution.  It  contained  a 
famous  tomb  by  Auguier  to  the  Thou  family.  Of  later 
monuments,  those  of  André  Duchesne — "  père  de  l'histoire 
de  France,"  the  engraver  Robert  Nanteuil,  and  the  poet 
Houdart  de  la  Motte,  were  remarkable.  On  the  right  and 
left  of  the  altar  were  the  tombs  of  the  Prince  de  Conti,  by 
Nicolas  Coustou  (now  at  Versailles),  and  of  his  mother,  by 
Girardon  (destroyed  in  the  Revolution).  The  little  Col- 
lege d'Autun,  on  the  right  of  the  street,  was  founded  for 
fifteen  scholars  (in  1327)  by  Cardinal  Pierre  Bertrand, 
Bishop  of  Autun  ;  it  was  pulled  down  in  the  Revolution. 
At  the  same  time  perished  the  Collège  de  Boissi,  behind 
the  church,  which  was  founded  (in  1358)  by  Etienne  Vidé, 
of  Boissi  le  Sec. 

From  the  Place  St.  André  des  Arts,  the  Rue  Haute- 
feiiille  runs  south,  and  is  perhaps  in  its  domestic  architect- 
ure the  most  interesting  and  the  best  worth  preserving  of 
all  Parisian  streets.  The  name  Hautefeuille  comes  from  a 
fortress — altiim  folitim,  the  lofty  dwelling — which  existed 
close  to  this  in  very  early  times.  No.  5  has  an  admirable 
round  tourelle  belonging  to  the  Hôtel  de  Fecamp.  No.  9 
is  a  very  curious  house  with  turrets.     No.  21  has  a  well- 


HÔTEL    DE  FECAMP 


379 


proportioned  octangular  tourelle.  The  Rue  Hautefeuille 
crosses  the  Rue  Serpente,  in  which,  to  the  east,  stood  the 
Collège  de  Tours,  which  was  swallowed  up  in  the  Collège 
Louis  le  Grand.  It  was  founded  (in  1375)  by  Etienne  de 
Bourgueil,  Archbishop  of  Tours.  To  the  west,  a  sculpt- 
ured glory  on  a  building,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  Mignon,  is 


HOTEL   DE   FECAMP. 

a  still  existing  relic  (the  end  of  the  chapel)  of  the  College  de 
Mignon  (afterwards  Grandmont),  founded  in  the  XIV.  c. 
by  Jean  Mignon,  Archdeacon  of  Chartres,  and  sold  at  the 
Revolution.  It  was  at  one  time  occupied  by  the  archives 
of  the  Royal  Treasury.  A  quaint  bit  of  old  Paris  may  be 
seen    by  following   the    Rue   du  Jardinet   from   the    Rue 


38o 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


Serpente  to  the  Coiir  de  Rohan,  where  part  of  the  wall  and 
the  base  of  a  tower  of  Philippe  Auguste  still  exist.  Hence, 
a  gateway  opens  into  the  Cour  de  Covimerce,  by  which  we 
may  reach  the  Rue  de  l'Ancienne  Come'die. 

The    Rue    Hautefeuille    falls    into  the  Rue  de  V Ecole 
de  Médecine,  just  opposite  the    interesting  remains  of  the 


IN    THE    RUE    HAUTEFEUILLE. 

famous  Conve?it  of  the  Cordeliers,  now  used  to  contain  the 
surgical  Mtisee  Dupuytren.  The  convent  took  its  popular 
name  from  the  waist-cord  of  its  Franciscan  or  Minorite 
friars,  and  was  supposed  to  possess  the  actual  "  cordon  de 
St.  François."  Its  church  was  built  by  St.  Louis,  with  the 
line  levied  upon  Enguerrand  de  Coucy,  for  having  pun- 
ished with  death  three  young  men  who  were  poaching  on 


LES  CORDELIERS 


381 


his  land.  The  heart  of  Jeanne  d'Evreux,  wife  of  Philippe 
le  Bel,  was  deposited  here,  by  her  desire.  Other  impor- 
tant monuments  in  the  church  were  those  of  Pio,  Prince 
di  Carpi,  and  of  Alexandre  d'Ales  or  Hales,  "la  fleur 
des  philosophes."  It  was  here  that  the  Duchesse  de 
Nemours,  a  furious  partisan  of  the  Ligue,  mounted  the  steps 


LES   CORDELIERS. 


of  the  altar,  after  the  death  of  Henri  IH.,  and  harangued 
the  people,  pouring  forth  a  torrent  of  abuse  against  the 
murdered  tyrant.  The  theological  lectures  of  the  convent 
were  celebrated,  especially  those  of  Alexandre  Hales,  "  le 
docteur  irréfragable  "  ;  St.  Buonaventura,  "  le  docteur  séra- 
phique"i  and  duns  Scotus,  "le  docteur  subtil."     Marie 


382 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


Thérèse  d'Autriche  added  a  large  chapel  to  the  church  in 
honor  of  St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  in  1672. 

At  the  Revolution  the  confiscated  convent  became  the 
place  where  Camille  Desmoulins  founded  the  club  of  the 
Cordeliers,  of  which  he  and  Danton  were  the  principal 
orators  ;  and  it  was  the  tocsin  of  the  Cordeliers  which  gave 
the  signal  for  the  attack  upon  the  Tuileries,  on  August  10, 


PORTAL,   ÉCOLE   DE  DESSIN. 

1792.  It  was  in  the  church  of  the  Cordeliers  that  Marat 
lay  in  state,  upon  a  catafalque,  in  his  bloody  shirt  ;  and  in 
the  little  court  close  by,  he  was  buried  at  midnight  by 
torchlight,  to  rest  (till  his  removal  to  the  Pantheon)  in  the 
very  place  where  he  had  harangued  and  excited  the  people 
in  life.  Every  Sunday  pilgrimages  were  organized  hither 
to  the  grave  of  Marat. 


V ECOLE   DE   MEDECINE 


Z^Z 


Part  of  the  site  of  the  convent  is  now  occupied  by  the 
Ecole  de  Dessin^  founded  by  Bachelier  in  1767,  and  entered 
from  the  Rue  de  l'Ecole  de  Médecine  by  a  portal  of  great 
beauty,  richly  ornamented  with  caryatides  in  relief,  by  Con- 
stant Defeux.  Its  buildings  are  amongst  the  best  speci- 
mens of  XVII.  c.  architecture  in  Paris. 


IN   THE   RUE   DE    l'ÉCOLE   DE   MÉDECINE. 

The  Ecole  de  Médecine^  on  the  other  side  of  the  street, 
swallows  up  the  site  of  the  Collège  de  Dainville,  founded 
(in  1380)  by  Michel  de  Dainville,  Archdeacon  of  Arras  ; 
of  the  little  Collège  des  Prémontre's;  and  of  the  once 
famous  Collège  de  Bourgogne,  founded  by  Jeanne  de  Bour- 
gogne, widow  of  Philippe  le  Long,  for  twenty  Burgundian 
scholars  to  come  to  Paris  to  study  logic  and  natural  phi- 


384  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

losophy.     Of  the  education  there,  contemporary  memoirs 
allow  us  to  judge. 

"  I  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Burgundy  in  1542,  in  the  third 
class  ;  in  less  than  a  year  I  was  in  the  first.  I  find  that  these 
eighteen  months  of  college  did  me  much  good.  I  learned  to  re- 
cite, dispute,  and  speak  in  public.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
good  boys,  learned  the  frugal  life  of  a  scholar,  and  to  regulate  my 
time,  so  that  on  leaving  I  recited  in  public  many  Latin  verses, 
and  two  thousand  Greek  verses,  in  the  fashion  of  the  time,  and 
repeated  Homer  by  heart  from  one  end  to  the  other.  This  was 
the  cause  why  I  was  afterwards  regarded  favorably  by  the  first 
men  of  the  time." — Henri  de  Ales/nes,  ^^  Me'moires" 

The  Collège  de  Bourgogne  was  comprised  in  the  col- 
leges united  to  the  Collège  Louis  le  Grand.  Its  buildings 
were  given  to  the  School  of  Surgery,  and  were  pulled  down, 
and  the  handsome  buildings  of  the  Ecole  de  Médecine 
(formerly  de  Chirurgie)  founded  by  Louis  XV.  (1769) 
erected  in  their  place. 

An  admirable  tourelle,  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Larrey, 
has  perished  in  recent  times.  At  No.  20  Rue  de  l'Ecole 
de  Médecine  (recently  destroyed)  was  the  house  where,  in 
a  back  room,  Charlotte  Corday  stabbed  Marat — ^'  l'ami  du 
peuple" — in  his  bath,  July  13,  1793. 

"  Charlotte  avoided  fixing  her  eyes  on  him,  for  fear  of  be- 
traying the  horror  of  her  soul.  Standing  erect,  with  her  eyes 
lowered,  her  hands  hanging  near  the  bath,  she  waited  for  Marat 
to  interrogate  her  respecting  the  condition  of  Normandy.  She 
replied  briefly,  giving  to  her  answers  the  sense  and  the  color 
proper  to  flatter  the  assumed  disposition  of  the  demagogue.  He 
asked  her  at  last  the  names  of  the  deputies  who  had  taken  refuge 
at  Caen.  She  dictated  them  to  him,  and  he  noted  them  down. 
Then  when  he  had  finished  writing  the  names,  he  exclaimed,  '  It 
is  well  !  '  with  the  accent  of  a  man  sure  of  his  vengeance  ;  'within 
eight  days  they  will  be  at  the  guillotine  !  ' 

"At  these  words,  as  if  she  had  waited  for  a  last  crime  to 
make  her  resolve  to  strike  the  blow,  she  drew  from  her  bosom  a 
knife,   and   plunged   it  with  supernatural   force  to  the  hilt  into 


RUE  DE  L ANCIENNE   COMÉDIE  385 

Marat's  heart.  By  the  same  movement  she  drew  out  the  bleed- 
ing knife  from  the  body  of  the  victim,  and  let  it  fall  at  her  feet. 
'  Help,  my  love,  help  !  '  cried  Marat,  and  expired  under  the 
blow." — Lamartine,  ''Hist,  des  Gironditis." 

The  illustration  represents  the  old  houses  which  ad- 
joined that  of  Marat — now  destroyed. 

The  Rue  de  l'Ecole  de  Médecine  is  henceforth  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  Boulevard  St.  Germain,  on  the  right  of 
which  is  the  Ftie  de  r Ancienne  Comédie,  which  once  con- 
tained the  Théâtre  Français  j  and  opposite  it,  the  Café 
Procope,  the  resort  of  Voltaire  and  all  the  literary  celebri- 
ties of  his  time. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  FAUBOURG  ST.   GERMAIN, 

THE  Pont  Pvoyal,  opposite  the  site  of  the  Tuileries, 
leads  us  to  the  Qicai  Voltaire^  so  called  because 
Voltaire  died  in  the  hotel  of  his  friend  the  Marquis  de 
Vilette,  at  the  angle  of  the  quai  and  the  Rue  de  Beaune. 
The  house  was  afterwards  closed  till  the  empire,  a  circum- 
stance which  was  taken  advantage  of  in  using  it  as  a  hid- 
ing-place for  priests.  Beyond  the  Quai  Voltaire  is  the 
Quai  Malaqiiais  ;  both  are  lined  with  bookstalls,  where 
literary  treasures  may  often  be  discovered.  No.  17,  with  a 
great  courtyard  opening  upon  the  Quai  Malaquais,  is  the 
XVIII.  c.  Hotel  de  Bouillon  or  de  Juigné^  occupied  under 
the  empire  by  the  Ministère  de  Police. 

From  the  Pont  des  St.  Feres,  which  crosses  the  Seine 
opposite  the  Rue  des  St.  Peres,  is  one  of  the  best  of  the 
Paris  river  views. 

"  In  the  foreground  was  the  Port  St.  Nicolas,  the  low  sheds 
of  the  shipping  offices,  the  broad,  paved  slope  covered  with  heaps 
of  sand,  barrels,  and  sacks,  and  lined  by  a  row  of  lighters,  still 
full,  in  which  a  crowd  of  'longshoremen  were  swarming  beneath 
the  shadow  of  a  huge  iron  crane  ;  while  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water,  a  cold  bath,  enlivened  by  the  shouts  of  the  last  bathers  of 
the  season,  gave  to  the  wind  its  awning  of  gray  canvas  which 
served  as  a  roof.  In  the  middle  ground  the  Seine,  with  no  boat 
on  its  surface,  swelled  in  greenish  tints  with  little  dancing  rip- 
ples, spotted  with  white,  blue,  and  rose.    The  Pont  des  Arts  gave 


ÉCOLE   DES  BEAUX-ARTS  387 

a  second  background,  standing  high  on  its  iron  beams,  delicate 
as  black  lace,  and  animated  by  the  perpetual  corning  and  going  of 
foot  passengers,  a  cavalcade  of  ants  on  the  thin  line  of  its  road- 
way. Below,  the  Seine  continued  far  into  the  distance  ;  the  old 
arches  of  the  Pont  Neuf,  brown  with  its  weather-beaten  stones, 
were  in  sight  ;  a  gap  opened  to  the  left  as  far  as  the  Isle  de  St. 
Louis,  a  flashing  mirror  of  blinding  narrowness,  and  the  other 
arm  of  the  stream  was  shortened  where  the  dam  of  La  Monnaie 
seemed  to  stop  the  view  with  its  bar  of  foam.  Along  the  Pont 
Neuf  the  great  yellow  omnibuses  and  wagons  with  striped  tilts  de- 
filed with  the  mechanical  regularity  of  a  child's  toy.  The  whole 
background  was  framed  in  the  perspective  of  the  two  banks  ;  on 
the  right,  the  houses  on  the  quays  were  half  hid  by  a  clump  of  tall 
trees,  from  which,  at  the  horizon,  stood  out  a  corner  of  the  Hôtel 
de  Ville,  and  the  square  tower  of  St.  Gervais  lost  in  a  confusion 
of  suburb;  on  the  left,  awing  of  the  Institute,  the  flat  façade  of  the 
Mint,  and  more  trees  in  a  long  file  were  visible.  But  the  centre 
of  the  immense  picture,  rising  up  from  the  river,  towering  and 
reaching  to  heaven,  was  the  Cité,  that  prow  of  an  antique  ship 
eternally  gilded  by  the  setting  sun.  Lower  down,  the  poplars  on 
the  level  ground  formed  a  strong,  green  mass,  that  hid  the  statue. 
High  up,  the  sun  produced  marvellous  contrasts,  bur)ing  in 
shadow  the  gray  houses  of  the  Quai  de  l'Horloge,  and  lighting 
up  the  pink  houses  of  the  Ouai  des  Orfèvres,  and  the  files  of 
irregular  houses,  so  clearly  outlined  that  the  eye  could  distin- 
guish the  smallest  details,  the  shops,  the  signs,  and  the  window 
curtains.  Higher  still,  amid  the  indentations  of  the  chimney?, 
behind  the  oblique  checkers  of  the  little  roofs,  the  pepper-boxes 
of  the  Palais  de  Justice  and  the  top  of  the  Prefecture,  a  wide 
expanse  of  slates  was  broken  by  a  colossal  white  advertisement 
painted  on  a  wall,  whose  giant  letters,  visible  to  all  Paris,  seemed 
to  be  the  efflorescence  of  the  modern  fever  on  the  brow  of  the 
city.  Higher  and  higher  still,  above  the  twin  towers  of  Notre 
Dame,  in  tones  of  old  gold,  two  spires  soared  upward  ;  behind 
was  the  spire  of  the  cathedral,  and  to  the  left  the  spire  of  the  St. 
Chapelle,  both  so  delicate  and  fine  that  they  seemed  to  shiver  in 
the  breeze,  the  tall  masts  of  the  ship  of  ages,  plunging  in  open 
day  into  light."— Z^'/«,  "■  V Œuvre:'' 

Close  to  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  Bonaparte  (formerly 
Pot-de-Fer),  on  the  right  of  the  street,  is  the  Ecole  des 
Beaux- Arts  (open  daily  from  10  to  4,  except  Sundays  and 


388  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

holidays,  when  it  opens  at  12),  occupying  the  site  of  the 
Couvent  des  Petits  Augustins,  founded  by  Marguerite  de 
Valois,!  first  and  divorced  wife  of  Henri  IV.  (the  "  grosse 
Margot  "  of  her  brother,  Charles  IX.).  One  of  her  eccen- 
tric ideas  was  to  have  a  Chapelle  des  Louanges^  served  by 
fourteen  friars,  who  were  never  to  leave  the  convent,  and 
never  to  cease  singing,  two  and  two  at  a  time. 

"  Queen  Margaret  brought  hither  the  Bare-footed  Augustines 
(Petits-Pères),  to  whom  she  gave  a  house,  six  arpents  of  land,  and 
ten  thousand  livres  annually,  on  condition  that  they  should  sing 
hymns  and  the  praises  of  God  to  airs  composed  by  her  orders.  Their 
fathers,  assuredly,  did  not  love  music,  for  they  persisted  in  sing- 
ing psalm-tunes.  The  queen  drove  them  out,  and  put  in  their 
place  some  of  the  "shod"  Augustines,  who  have  since  then 
rounded  out  pretty  well  and  given  their  name  to  the  street." — 
Saint  Foix,   ^^  Ess.  hist,  sur  Paris"  1776. 

The  famous  Duke  of  Lauzun  died  at  the  Petits  Augus- 
tins in  December,  1723,  at  above  ninety,  having  married 
Mile  de  Lorges  after  the  death  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle. 
During  the  Revolution  the  convent  was  used  as  a  Musée 
des  Monuments  français.,  and  more  than  twelve  hundred 
pieces  of  sculpture  from  churches,  palaces,  and  convents, 
were  saved  from  destruction  and  collected  here  by  the 
energy  and  care  of  Alexandre  Lenoir.  The  admiration 
excited  by  the  collection  thus  formed  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  revived  interest  throughout  France  in  the  art  of  the 
middle  ages,  so  that  the  Musée  des  Petits  Augustins  may 
be  considered  to  have  done  a  great  work,  though  it  was 
suppressed  in  18 16.  A  few — too  few — of  its  precious 
contents  were  then  restored  to  their  proper  sites  ;  most  of 
those  unclaimed  were  transferred  to  the  Louvre,  Ver- 
sailles, or  St.  Denis  :  several  remain  here.     Nothing  but 

1  The  Queen  intended  her  foundation  to  be  called  Couvent  de  Jacob,  a 
name  which  has  passed  to  a  neighboring  street.  She  bequeathed  her  heart  lo 
the  convent,  to  be  preserved  in  its  chapel. 


BEAUX  ARTS  389 

the  convent  chapel  and  an  oratory  called  after  Marguerite 
de  Valois  remains  of  the  conventual  buildings.  The 
present  magnificent  edifice  was  begun  under  Louis  XVIII. 
and  finished  under  Louis  Philippe.  In  the  midst  of  the 
first  court  is  a  Corinthian  column  surmounted  by  a  figure 
of  Abundance,  in  the  style  of  Germain  Pilon.  To  the  left 
are  a  number  of  XV.  c.  sculptures  from  the  Hôtel  de  la 
Trémouille  in  the  Rue  des  Bourdonnais,  destroyed  1841. 
On  the  right  is  the  convent  chapel,  its  portal  replaced  by 
that  of  the  inner  court  of  the  Château  d'Anet — a  beautiful 
work  of  Jean  Goujon  and  Philibert  Delorme.  Dividing 
the  first  from  the  second  court  is  a  façade  from  the 
château  of  Cardinal  d'Amboise  at  Gaillon. 

Amongst  the  fragments  in  the  second  court  are  sym- 
bolical sculptures  executed  for  the  chapel  of  Philippe  de 
Commines  at  the  Grands  Augustins  ;  capitals  from  the  old 
church  of  St.  Geneviève  (XL  c.)  ;  incised  tombs,  greatly 
injured  by  exposure  to  the  weather  ;  and  two  porticoes  (at 
the  sides)  from  Gaillon.  In  the  centre  is  the  graceful 
shallow  fountain  ordered  for  the  cloister  of  St.  Denis  by 
the  Abbot  Hugues  (XII.  c). 

The  amphitheatre  is  adorned  with  the  Hémicycle  of 
Paul  Delaroche.  In  the  Cour  du  Mûrier  is  a  monument 
to  Henri  Regnault,  the  sculptor,  killed  in  the  defence  of 
Paris,  1870-71. 

The  enlarging  of  the  Beaux  Arts  towards  the  Quai 
Malaquais  has  destroyed  the  Hôtel  de  Cre'qui  or  Mazarin, 
where  Fouche  and  Savary  had  their  secret  police  office. 
In  the  next  house  (also  destroyed  now)  Henrietta  Maria 
once  lived,  and  afterwards  Marie  Mancini,  Duchesse  de 
•Bouillon  :  it  had  paintings  by  Lebrun. 

The  Rue  Visconti,  almost  opposite  the  Beaux  Arts  (now 
called  after  the  famous  architect),  was,  as  Rue  des  Marais, 


390  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

the  great  centre  of  the  Huguenots.  D'Aubigné  says  that 
it  used  to  be  called  "le  petit  Genève."  No.  19  in  this 
street  is  the  Hotel  des  Ranes^  on  the  site  of  the  Petit  Pré 
aux  Clercs,  and  was  the  house  in  which  Racine  died, 
April  22,  1699.  Adrienne  Lecouvreur  lived  there  in 
1730,  and  it  was  also  inhabited  by  Champmele  and  Hip- 
polyte  Clairon. 

In  the  Rue  Jacob,  behind  the  Beaux  Arts,  is  (No.  47) 
the  Hôpital  de  la  Charité,  founded  by  Marie  de  Medicis, 
who  established  the  brothers  of  St.  Jean  de  Dieu  (Ben- 
fratelli)  in  Paris  in  1602.  The  buildings  mostly  date  from 
1 606-1 63  7.  Antoine,  architect  of  La  Monnaie,  added  a 
wing  at  the  end  of  the  last  century.  The  ancient  chapel 
of  the  convent,  now  occupied  by  the  Acade'mie  de 
Médecine,  has  a  façade  on  the  Rue  des  St.  Pères. 

The  part  of  the  Rue  Jacob  east  of  the  Rue  Bonaparte, 
formerly  Rue  du  Colombier,  contained,  on  its  south  side, 
the  ancient  chapel  of  St.  Martin  le  Vieux  (or  des  Orges), 
and  afterwards,  on  the  same  site,  a  house  with  a  very 
picturesque  tourelle,  destroyed  1850.^ 

Returning  to  the  Quai,  and  passing  an  admirable  Statue 
of  Voltaire,  we  reach  the  Institut  de  France^  held  in  a  palace 
built  on  the  site  of  the  Hôtel  de  Nesle,  in  pursuance  of  the 
will  of  Cardinal  Mazarin,  who  left  a  fortune  to  build  a 
college  for  sixty  gentlemen  of  Pignerol,  the  States  of  the 
Church,  Alsace,  Flanders,  and  Roussillon.  The  works, 
begun  from  designs  of  Levau,  were  finished  in  1662,  and 
the  new  college  received  the  official  name  of  Collège 
Mazarin,  but  the  public  called  it  Collège  des  Quatre 
Nations.  Cardinal  Mazarin  was  buried  in  its  church, 
where  his  niece,  the  Duchesse  Mazarin,  too  famous  during' 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  dying  in  England  in  1699,  was 

^  See  Adolphe  Bertz,  Top.  hist,  du  vieux  Paris. 


ACADÉMIE   FRANÇAISE  391 

buried  by  his  side,  after  her  body  had  been  carried  about 
for  two  years  by  her  husband,  from  whom  she  had  been 
separated  in  life  since  her  twenty-fourth  year  J 

Under  the  Revolution  the  buildings  of  the  college  were 
used  as  a  prison.  The  Institute  was  installed  there  on 
October  26,  1795,  having  been  originally  designed  by 
Colbert,  though  only  founded  by  the  National  Convention 
to  replace  the  academies  it  had  destroyed.  The  five 
academies  united  here  are  now:  i.  Académie  Française; 
2.  Académie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres;  3.  Aca- 
démie des  Sciences  ;  4.  Académie  des  Beaux- Arts  ;  5. 
Académie  des  Sciences  Morales  et  Politiques.  The 
library  and  collections  of  the  Institute  are  common  to  all 
the  academies.  A  general  meeting  for  the  distribution  of 
prizes  is  held  every  year  on  October  25. 

The  Académie  Frafiçaise  was  founded  by  Richelieu 
(1635).  It  has  never  numbered  more  than  forty  members. 
Their  object  is  supposed  to  be  the  perfecting  of  the 
French  language  and  the  advancement  of  literature.  The 
expression,  "  Couronné  par  l'Académie  Française,"  means 
that  the  author  has  received  one  of  the  prizes  of  the 
French  Academy.  The  reputation  of  the  Academy  has, 
however,  been  by  no  means  untarnished.  It  was  the 
Academy  of  flatterers  which,  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV., 
proposed  as  a  subject,  "  Laquelle  des  vertus  du  roi  est  la 
plus  digne  de  l'admiration  ?  "  It  was  the  Academy  which 
rejected  both  Racine  and  Boileau,  till  the  king  insisted  on 
their  admission  ;  which  never  admitted  Molière  ;  which 
never  invited  Helvetius,  Rousseau,  Diderot,  Raynal  ;  and 
which  expelled  the  patriot  St.  Pierre. 

"  Des  que  j'eus  l'air  d'un  homme  heureux,  tous  mes  con- 
frères,  les  beaux  esprits  de  Paris,  se  déchaînèrent  contre  moi 

»  St.  Simon. 


392  WALKS  IN  PARIS  . 

avec  toute  l'animosité  et  l'acharnement  qu'ils  devaient  avoir 
contre  quelqu'un  à  qui  on  donnait  les  récompenses  qu'il  méri- 
tait."—  Voltaire, 

The  Palais  de  l'Institut  was  begun  from  plans  of  Levau 
in  1 66 1.  Its  front  is  a  concave  semicircle,  ending  in 
pavilions,  and,  in  the  centre,  the  domed  church,  which 
contained  the  tomb  of  Mazarin,  the  masterpiece  of  Coyse- 
vox,  now  in  the  Louvre.  This  is  now  the  hall  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  different  sections  of  the  Institute. 

Mazarin  collected  books  from  his  earliest  years,  and, 
after  he  became  Prime  Minister,  opened  every  Thursday 
his  library  of  45,000  volumes  to  the  public.  But,  in  165 1, 
during  the  troubles  of  the  Fronde,  Parliament  ordered  the 
Cardinal's  books  to  be  sold,  and  his  library  was  entirely 
dispersed.  When,  only  two  years  after,  Mazarin  returned 
more  powerful  than  ever,  he  left  no  effort  untried  to  re- 
cover his  books,  which  was  rendered  easier  because  their 
bindings  bore  his  arms.  By  1660  the  library  was  recov- 
ered, and  in  the  following  year  he  bestowed  it  upon  his 
foundation  of  the  Collège  des  Quatre  Nations.  At  the 
Revolution,  the  collection  was  increased  by  50,000  books 
seized  from  religious  houses  or  private  collections,  includ- 
ing those  of  "  Louis  Capet,  Veuve  Capet,  Adélaïde  Capet," 
&c.  The  Library  is  open  to  the  public  daily  from  10  to  5, 
except  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  The  vacation  is  from 
July  15  to  September  i. 

The  Bibliothèque  Mazarine  is  entered  from  the  left  of 
the  courtyard.  In  the  anteroom  is  a  copper  globe  exe- 
cuted by  the  brothers  Bergwin  for  Louis  XVI.  and  at 
which  he  is  believed  to  have  worked  with  his  own  hands. 
The  library  itself  is  a  long  chamber,  full  of  dignity  and 
repose.  The  bookshelves  are  divided  by  pillars,  with 
busts  in  front  :  that  of  Mazarin  stands  at  the  end.     In  the 


TOUR  DE  NESLE  393 

centre  are  cases  full  of  books  attractive  from  rare  bindings 
or  autographs  of  previous  possessors,  and  a  collection  of 
models  of  Pelasgic  buildings  very  interesting  to  those  who 
have  travelled  in  Greece  and  Italy. 

The  dome  of  the  Institute  is  always  a  great  feature  in 
views  of  Paris,  but  especially  at  sunset. 

"In  no  primeval  forest,  in  no  mountain  path,  in  no  expanse 
of  plains,  will  there  ever  be  such  triumphal  closes  of  the  day  as 
behind  the  cupola  of  the  Institute.  Paris  slumbers  in  their 
glory." — Zola,  '' V Œuvre." 

The  Tour  de  Nesle  (Nigella)  which  formerly  occupied 
the  site  of  the  Institution,  was  a  lofty  round  tower  with 
a  loftier  tourelle,  containing  a  winding  staircase,  attached 
to  it.  It  corresponded  with  another  tower  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  which  stood  at  some  distance  from  the 
Louvre,  at  the  angle  of  the  city  walls,  and  was  known 
as  "la  Tour  qui  fait  le  coin."  Sometimes,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  river,  a  chain  was  stretched  from  one  tower  to 
the  other.  The  Tour  de  Nesle,  enclosed  in  the  walls  of 
Philippe  Auguste,  was  part  of  a  hotel  which  belonged  to 
Amauri  de  Nesle,  who  sold  it  to  Philippe  le  Bel  in  1308. 
Jeanne  de  Bourgogne,  wàfe  of  Philippe  le  Long,  always 
lived  in  the  Hôtel  de  Nesle  during  the  eight  years  of  her 
widowhood.  Her  being  the  heiress  of  Franche  Comté 
had  caused  her  to  be  acquitted  and  reconciled  to  her  hus- 
band after  she  was  accused  of  adultery  together  with  the 
two  other  daughters-in-law  of  Philippe  le  Bel,  though  the 
Princesses  Blanche  and  Marguerite  were  imprisoned  for 
life,  and  their  supposed  lovers,  Philippe  and  Gautier 
d'Aulnoi,  beheaded,  after  the  most  cruel  tortures.  At  the 
same  time,  many  persons,  as  well  of  lofty  as  of  humble 
degree,  supposed  to  have  favored  the  loves  of  the  prin- 
cesses, were  sewn  up  in  sacks  and  thrown  into  the  river. 


394  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

It  is  probable  that  Jeanne,  who  was  accused  of  the  same 
galanteries  as  her  sisters-in-law,  and  who  actually  lived  at 
the  Tour  de  Nesle,  was  the  heroine  of  its  famous  legend. 

"  C'étoit  une  reine  qui  se  tenoit  à  l'hôtel  de  Nesle,  faisant  le 
guet  au  passants,  et  ceux  qui  lui  revenaient  et  agréaient  le  plus, 
de  quelque  sorte  de  gens  que  ce  fussent,  les  faisait  appeler  et 
venir  à  soy  de  nuit,  et  après  en  avoir  tiré  ce  qu'elle  en  voulait, 
les  faisait  précipiter  du  haut  de  la  tour  qui  paraît  encore  en  bas 
en  l'eau,  et  les  faisait  noyer.  Je  ne  veux  pas  dire  que  cela  soit 
vrai,  mais  le  vulgaire,  au  moins  plupart  de  Paris,  l'affirme,  et 
n'y  a  si  commun,  qu'en  lui  monstrant  la  tour  seulement  et  en 
l'interrogeant,  que  de  lui-même  ne  le  die." — Brantôme,  ^*  Dames 
Galantes." 

"Robert  Gaguin,  an  historian  of  the  end  of  the  XV.  c,  re- 
lates that  a  scholar  named  Jean  Buridan,  having  escaped  this 
peril,  proposed  in  the  schools  the  celebrated  sophism,  Licitum 
est  occidere  reginaju.  '  The  same  Buridan  was,  at  the  time  when 
Philip  of  Valois  was  reigning,  a  very  famous  regent  in  arts.' 
According  to  others,  the  cruel  queen,  on  the  contrary,  made 
attempts  on  the  life  of  the  celebrated  Doctor  Buridan,  one  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  philosophical  sect  of  the  nominalists,  because  he 
warned  his  scholars  against  the  illicit  loves  of  this  Messalina  of 
the  middle  ages." — Martin,  ''Hist,  de  France." 

The  poet  Villon,  who  was  born  in  143 1,  writes  in  his 
"  Ballade  des  Dames  du  temps  jadis  " — 

"  Semblablement  où  est  la  royne 
Qui  commanda  que  Buridan 
Fut  jeté  en  un  sac  en  Sceine." 

It  was  to  this  same  Hôtel  de  Nesle  that  Henriette  de 
Clèves,  wife  of  Louis  de  Gonzague,  Duc  de  Nemours, 
brought  the  head  of  her  lover  Coconas  (beheaded  1574), 
which  had  been  exposed  on  the  Place  de  Grève,  and 
which  she  carried  off  at  night,  and  kept  ever  after  in  a 
cabinet  behind  her  bed.^  The  same  chamber  was  watered 
with  the  tears  of  her  granddaughter,  Marie  Louise  de  Gon- 

^  See  Mémoires  de  Nevers,  i.  57. 


RUE  MAZARIM  395 

zague  de  Clèves,  whose  lover,  Cinq-Mars,  had  the  same 
fote  as  Coconas,  and  was  beheaded  in  1642. 

Henry  V.  of  England  inhabited  the  Tour  de  Nesle 
when  he  was  at  Paris,  and  caused  "  Le  mystère  de  la  pas- 
sion de  Saint  Georges  "  to  be  acted  there.  In  1552,  Henri 
H.  sold  the  hotel,  and  soon  after  it  was  all  pulled  down, 
except  the  tower  and  gateway  (by  which  part  of  the  army 
of  Henri  IV.  entered  Paris),  which  stood  till  1663,  when 
they  were  demolished  to  make  way  for  the  Collège  Mazarin. 

The  painter  Jouvenet  lived  and  worked  in  the  pavilion 
of  the  Collège  Mazarin  which  touches  the  Quai  Conti. 
On  the  Quai  Conti^  a  house  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de 
Nevers,  was  that  in  which  Napoleon  I.  lived,  on  the  fifth 
floor,  as  a  simple  officer  of  artillery,  fresh  from  the  school 
of  Brienne. 

Behind  the  Institute,  on  the  west,  runs  the  Rue  Maza- 
rin^ famous  for  its  curiosity-shops,  where,  behind  the  houses, 
are  remains  of  the  walls  of  Philippe  Auguste. 

A  little  east  of  the  Institute  is  the  Hotel  de  la  Monnaie 
(the  Mint),  a  fine  building  by  Jacques  Denis  Antoine, 
erected  1768-17 75,  on  a  site  previously  occupied  by  the 
Hôtel  de  Guénégand,^  then  by  the  Grand  et  Petit  Hôtels 
de  Conti.  The  original  Mint  was  in  the  He  de  la  Cité. 
The  museum  of  coins,  medals,  &c.,  is  open  to  the  public 
on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  from  2  to  3.  The  laboratory  is 
only  shown  by  a  special  permission  from  the  Commission 
des  Monnaies  et  Médailles.  On  the  garden  side  a  stately 
front  of  the  Petit  Hotel  de  Conti  may  still  be  seen  enclosed 
in  later  buildings. 

We  may  now  turn  south,  following  the  Rue  de  la  Seine, 

^  The  literary  soirées  of  Mme  de  Guénégand  had  a  great  celebrity.  The 
Mémoires  de  Coulanges  describe  Boileau  reciting  his  verses  there  to  a  society 
composed  of  Mmes  de  Sévigné,  de  Feuquières,  and  de  la  Fayette,  MM.  de  la 
Rochefoucauld,  de  Sens,  de  Saintes,  de  Léon,  and  de  Caumartin. 


396  WALJCS  IN  PARIS 

where  Marguerite  de  Valois,  the  repudiated  and  licentious 
first  wife  of  Henri  IV.,  having  leave  to  reside  in  Paris, 
lived  after  she  left  the  Hôtel  de  Sens  in  the  Marais  till  her 
death,  which  occurred  here,  March  27,  16 15.  She  chose 
this  residence  because  "  il  lui  parut  piquant  de  demeurer 
vis-à-vis  du  Louvre,  où  régnait  Marie  de  Medicis."  Sully, 
however,  praises  the  sweetness  of  temper,  resignation,  and 
disinterestedness  of  Queen  Marguerite. 

"  I  saw  Queene  Margarite,  the  king's  divorced  wife,  being 
carried  by  men  in  the  open  streets  under  a  stately  canopy." — 
Coryafs  "  Crudities''  1611. 

It  was  in  the  house  of  Queen  Marguerite  that  the  first 
literary  academy  met,  under  Antoine  Leclerc  de  la  Forêt 
as  president. 

The  Rue  de  la  Seine  will  bring  us  to  the  Palace  of  the 
Luxembourg^  now  the  Palace  of  the  Senate  (open  from  9  to  4 
in  winter,  9  to  5  in  summer),  built  by  Marie  de  Medicis 
"on  the  site  of  a  hotel  erected  by  Robert  de  Harlay  de 
Saucy  early  in  the  XVI.  c,  which  was  bought  by  the  Due 
de  Pincy-Luxembourg.  The  queen  employed  Jacques  De- 
brosses  as  her  architect  in  16 15,  and  his  work  was  com- 
pleted in  1620.  The  ground  floor,  in  the  Tuscan  style, 
was  intended  to  convey  a  reminiscence  of  the  Florentine 
Palazzo  Pitti,  in  which  Marie  de  Medicis  was  born  ;  the 
upper  stories  are  Grecian. 

"  I  think  this  one  of  the  most  noble,  entire,  and  finish'd  piles 
that  is  to  be  seen,  taking  it  with  the  gardens  and  all  its  accom- 
plishments."— Johji  Evelyn. 

"In  plan,  the  Luxembourg  is  essentially  French,  consisting 
of  a  magnificent  corps  de  logis  315  feet  in  width  by  170  feet  in 
depth,  and  three  stories  in  l^eight,  from  which  wings  project  230 
feet,  enclosing  a  courtyard,  with  the  usual  screen  and  entrance 
tower  in  front.  By  the  boldness  of  his  masses,  and  the  variety  of 
light  and  shade  he  has  introduced  everywhere,  the  architect  has 
sought  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  detail  by  the  variety  of  outline. 


THE  LUXEMBOURG  397 

He  has  done  this  with  such  success  that  even  now  there  are  few 
palaces  in  France  which,  on  the  whole,  are  so  satisfactory  and  so 
little  open  to  adverse  criticism." — Fergusson. 

The  queen  intended  to  call  the  palace  Palais  Medicis, 
though  the  name  has  always  clung  to  it  which  is  derived 
from  François  de  Luxembourg,  prince  de  Tingry,  who 
owned  the  site  in  1570.  The  palace  was  bequeathed  by 
Marie  de  Medicis  to  her  younger  son,  Gaston,  Due  d'Or- 
léans, from  whom  it  came  to  his  two  daughters,  who  each 
held  half  of  the  Luxembourg — "La  Grande  Mademoiselle," 
and  the  pious  Duchesse  de  Guise  (whose  mother,  sister  of 
the  Due  de  Lorraine,  had  clandestinely  become  the  second 
wife  of  Monsieur),  who  was  terribly  tyrannized  over  by  her 
rich  half-sister.  It  was  here  that  Mademoiselle  received 
the  visits  of  M.  de  Lauzun,  whilst  La  Fosse  was  painting 
the  loves  of  Flore  and  Zephyr,  and  here  that  she  astonished 
Europe  by  the  announcement  of  her  intended  marriage,  to 
which — for  a  few  days — Louis  XIV.  was  induced  to  give 
his  consent. 

"  I  am  going  to  tell  you  something,  the  most  astonishing,  the 
most  surprising,  the  most  marvellous,  the  most  miraculous,  the 
most  triumphant,  the  most  stupifying,  the  most  unheard-of,  the 
most  singular,  the  most  extraordinary,  the  most  incredible,  the 
most  unforeseen,  the  greatest,  the  smallest,  the  rarest,  the  com- 
monest, the  most  striking,  the  most  secret  till  to-day,  the  most 
dazzling,  the  most  enviable  thing,  a  thing  of  which  only  one 
example  can  be  found  in  times  past,  and  yet  this  example  is  not 
parallelled,  a  thing  which  we  cannot  believe  in  Paris,  so  how  can 
it  be  believed  at  Lyons?  a  thing  which  makes  all  the  world  say 
'  Mercy  on  us  !  '  a  thing  which  will  take  place  on  Sunday,  when 
those  who  shall  see  it  will  believe  they  are  short-sighted,  a  thing 
which  will  take  place  on  Sunday,  and  which  will  not  have  taken 
place  on  Monday — I  cannot  make  up  m}'  mind  to  tell  you — guess 
then  ;  I  will  give  you  three  times.  •'  Do  you  give  it  up  ?'  Well, 
then,  I  must  tell  you  :  M.  de  Lauzun  is  to  be  married  on  Sun- 
day at  the  Louvre.  Guess  to  whom  !  I  will  give  you  four 
guesses,  I  will  give  you  six,  I  will  give  you  a  hundred  !     Mme 


398  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

dc  Coulanges  said  :  '  It  is  very  hard  to  guess.  It  is  Mme  do. 
la  Vallière.'  '  Not  at  all,  Madame.'  'Then  it  is  Mile  de  Retz.' 
'  Not  at  all — how  countrified  you  are  !  '  '  Ah,  truly  we  are  very 
stupid,  'you  say  ;  '  it  is  Mile  Colbert.'  '  Worse  and  worse  !  '  'It 
is  certainly  Mile  de  Créqui.'  You  are  not  near  it.  I  must  then 
at  last  tell  you.  He  marries  on  Sunday,  at  the  Louvre,  by  per- 
mission of  the  king,  Mademoiselle  .  .  .  Mademoiselle  de  .  .  . 
Mademoiselle — guess  the  name  !  He  marries  Mademoiselle, 
daughter  of  the  late  Monsieur,  Mademoiselle,  granddaughter  of 
Henri  IV.,  Mademoiselle  d'Eu,  Mademoiselle  de  Dombes,  Made- 
moiselle de  Montpensier,  Mademoiselle  d'Orléans,  Mademoiselle, 
the  cousin-german  of  the  king.  Mademoiselle,  destined  to  the 
throne.  Mademoiselle,  the  only  parti  in  France  worthy  of  Mon- 
sieur. Here's  a  pretty  subject  to  talk  about." — M?ne  de  Sévigné, 
15  Décembre,  1670. 

Unforunately  for  Mademoiselle,  she  did  not  take  the 
king  at  his  word  and  marry  at  once,  but  waited  for  a  mag- 
nificent ceremonial.     Four  days  later  we  read — 

"  What  is  called  'tumbling  from  the  clouds  '  happened  yes- 
terday evening  at  the  Tuileries.  But  I  must  begin  further  back. 
You  know  the  joy,  the  transports,  the  raptures  of  the  Princess 
and  her  happy  lover.  On  Monday  the  announcement  was  made, 
as  I  have  told  you.  Tuesday  was  passed  in  talking,  wondering, 
and  complimenting.  On  Wednesday  Mademoiselle  made  a  set- 
tlement on  M.  de  Lauzun,  with  the  design  of  giving  him  the 
titles,  names,  and  styles  necessary  to  be  named  in  the  marriage 
contract,  which  was  drawn  up  the  same  day.  She  gave  him  then, 
while  waiting  for  something  more,  four  duchies.  The  first  was, 
the  countyship  of  Eu,  which  is  the  first  peerage  of  France,  and 
gives  precedence  ;  the  duchy  of  Montpensier,  the  name  of  which 
he  bore  all  the  day  yesterday  ;  the  duchy  of  Saint-Fangeau,  and 
the  duchy  of  Chatellerault  ;  in  all  about  twenty-two  millions. 
The  contract  was  then  drawn  up,  and  he  took  in  it  the  name  of 
Montpensier.  Friday  morning,  yesterday.  Mademoiselle  hoped 
that  the  king  would  sign  the  contract  as  he  promised  ;  but  about 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  queen.  Monsieur,  and  some  grey- 
beards gave  his  majesty  to  understand  that  this  affair  would  cause 
him  much  discredit,  so  that,  after  summoning  Mademoiselle  and 
M.  de  Lauzun,  the  king  declared,  in  the  presence  of  the  Prince, 
that  he  absolutely  forbade  them  to  think  of  the  marriage.     M.  de 


THE  LUXEMBOURG  399 

Lauzun  received  the  order  with  all  the  respect,  all  the  submission, 
all  the  firmness,  and  all  the  despair  befitting  such  a  fall.  As  for 
Mademoiselle,  with  her  disposition,  she  burst  into  tears,  cries, 
violent  laments  and  excessive  complaints,  and  kept  her  bed  all 
day,  taking  nothing  but  beef-tea.  Here  is  a  pretty  dream,  a  fine 
subject  for  a  romance  or  a  tragedy." 

The  independent  spirit  of  Mademoiselle  was  not  con- 
fined to  her  love  affairs. 

"When  the  Court  of  France  went  into  mourning  for  Crom- 
well, Mademoiselle  was  the  only  one  who  did  not  render  that 
homage  to  the  memory  of  the  murderer  of  a  king  who  was  her 
relative." —  Voltaire. 

At  her  death,  Mademoiselle  bequeathed  her  right  in 
the  Luxembourg  to  her  cousin  Philippe,  Due  d'Orléans, 
brother  of  Louis  XIV.  During  the  Regency,  the  palace 
was  the  residence  of  the  Duchesse  de  Berry  (daughter  of 
the  Regent,  Philippe  d'Orléans),  who,  by  her  orgies  here 
rivalled  those  of  her  father  at  the  Palais  Royal.  The 
Luxembourg  was  bought  by  Louis  XV.,  and  given  by 
Louis  XVL  to  his  brother,  "  Monsieur,"  who  resided  in  it 
till  his  escape  from  Paris  at  the  time  of  the  flight  to 
Varennes. 

Treated  as  national  property  during  the  Revolution, 
the  Luxembourg  became  one  of  the  prisons  of  the  Reign  of 
Terror.  Amongst  other  prisoners,  comprising  the  most 
illustrious  names  in  France,  were  the  Viscomte  de  Beau- 
harnais  and  his  wife  Josephine,  afterwards  Empress  of  the 
French  ;  "  De  quoi  se  plaignent  donc  ces  damnés  aristo- 
crates ?  "  cried  a  Montagnard  ;  "  nous  les  logeons  dans 
les  châteaux  royaux."  David  the  painter  designed  his 
picture  of  the  Sabines  during  his  imprisonment  at  the 
Luxembourg,  in  a  little  room  on  the  second  floor.  Here 
also,  in  a  different  category,  were  imprisoned  Hébert, 
Danton,   Camille   Desmoulins,  Philippeaux,  Lacroix,  Hé- 


400  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

rault  de  Séchelles,  Payne,  Bazire,  Chabot,  and  Fabre 
d'Eglantine.  In  1793  people  used  to  come  and  stand  for 
hours  in  the  garden  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  have  a 
last  sight  of  their  friends,  from  their  being  allowed  to  show 
themselves  at  the  windows. 

"  Beyond  the  pain  of  seeing  every  day  some  comrade,  whose 
society  and  misfortune  had  often  made  him  a  precious  friend, 
torn  from  one's  side  ;  beyond  the  cruel  suspense  in  which  each 
of  us  was  in,  of  being  taken  out  and  guillotined  ;  beyond  the 
numberless  persecutions  which  the  barbarous  ingenuity  of  the 
concierge  and  his  assistant  inflicted  every  day  ;  beyond  the  per- 
petual alarms  into  which  the  forced  silence  of  their  families  and 
the  refusal  of  newspapers  plunged  the  prisoners  ;  beyond  all 
these,  came  a  new  calamity  calculated  to  work  in  our  physique  the 
evils  which  had  already  affected  our  minds.  I  speak  of  the  com- 
mon tables,  an  institution  precious  in  itself,  but  abandoned  to 
greedy  men  who  speculated  on  poisoning  or  starving  to  death  the 
citizens  they  ought  to  feed What  was  sought  for,  hap- 
pened. Sickness  increased  ;  the  patients  had  no  attention  ;  to 
get  a  cooling  drink,  required  an  order  from  the  medical  man, 
which  had  to  be  countersigned  by  the  police,  in  whose  office  the 
license  would  then  remain  for  many  da)^s  ;  and  then  when  this 
license  was  obtained,  it  was  only  for  a  high  price  that  the  drugs 
prescribed  could  be  procured.  We  all  wasted  away  ;  death  was 
painted  on  every  face  ;  the  only  news  we  received  was  from  the 
sepulchral  voice  of  a  hired  ruffian,  who  came  beneath  the  windows 
of  the  unfortunate  prisoners,  and  cried  :  List  of  the  sixty  or  eighty 
winners  in  the  Lottery  of  Saint  Guillotine.  Some  barriers  de- 
prived the  prisoners  of  the  last  consolation  they  could  have,  the 
sight  of  their  families  or  friends.  All  gave  up  hopes  of  life,  and 
waited  in  sad  resignation  the  moment  of  execution.  The  prison- 
ers who  dared  to  anticipate  it,  were  regarded  by  these  cannibals 
as  the  most  consummate  scoundrels,  and  their  corpses  and  mem- 
ory barbarously  insulted." — "  Mémoires  sur  les  prisons  " 

"Among  the  female  prisoners  in  the  Luxembourg  were  the 
Duchesses  of  Noailles  and  Ayen  ;  the  former  was  about  eighty- 
three  years  old,  and  almost  entirely  deaf  ;  she  could  scarcely 
walk,  but  was  obliged  to  go  like  the  rest  to  the  common  trough, 
and  carry  with  her  a  bottle,  a  plate  and  a  dish  of  wood,  for  any 
other  was  prohibited.     As  they  were  dying  of  hunger  when  they 


TIIK   LUXEMBOURG 


401 


went  to  this  wretched  dinner,  each  strove  to  be  there  as  early  as 
possible,  without  paying  attention  to  those  near.  The  old  Maré- 
chale was  pushed  about  like  the  others,  and,  being  too  weak  to 
resist  such  shocks,  she  dragged  herself  on  by  the  wall,  so  as  not 
to  be  upset  at  every  step  ;  she  dared  not  advance  or  retreat,  and 
only  reached  the  table  when  all  the  others  were  seated.  The 
jailer  took  her  roughly  by  the  arm,  swung  her  round  and  placed 
her  on  the  seat  as  if  she  had  been  a  bundle." — Bcaidieu,  ''Essais 
Historiques  y 

"  I  found  in  the  same  prison  the  Maréchal  and  Maréchale 
de  Mouchy,  the  Princess  Joseph  of  Monaco,  the  Duchess  dc 
Fleury,  Mme  de  la  Rivière,  her  daughter,  Mme  de  Chaunéau- 
Breteuil,  and  Mme  de  Narbonne,  and  I  do  not  know  how  many 
other  ladies  of  my  kindred  or  friends,  who  received  me  with  open 
arms,  but  with  heavy  hearts. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  moment  of  the  departure  of  the 
Maréchale  de  Mouchy,  who  insisted  on  accompanying  her  hus- 
band to  the  revolutionary  tribunal.  The  jailer  and  his  wife,  and 
all  the  turnke)'s,  told  her  in  the  courtyard  to  which  we  had  de- 
scended and  gathered  together  to  bid  them  our  sad  farewells: 
'  Stop  here  ;  go  awa3%  citizeness  ;  you  are  not  summoned  to  the 
tribunal.'  '  Citizens,'  she  said,  'have  pity  on  us,  have  the  charity 
to  let  me  go  with  M.  de  Mouchy  ;  do  not  part  us.'  Her  cap  fell 
off,  and  she  stooped  down  painfully  and  picked  it  up  to  cover 

her  poor  white  hair At  length  her  devotion  triumphed 

over  the  resistance  of  her  jailers,  and  she  was  permitted  to  mount 
the  fatal  car  by  her  husband's  side,  and,  two  hours  afterwards, 
they  had  ceased  to  exist." — Souvenirs  de  la  Marqtiise  de  Cre'qui. 

It  was  at  the  Luxembourg,  that  (December  10,  1797) 
Bonaparte  presented  the  treaty  of  the  peace  of  Campo 
Formio  to  the  Directory,  after  returning  from  his  first 
campaign  in  Italy.  At  the  end  of  1799,  the  palace  be- 
came for  a  time  Le  Palais  du  Consulat:  under  the  empire 
it  was  Le  Palais  du  Sénat,  then  de  la  Pairie.  Marshal  Ney 
was  condemned  to  death  here,  under  the  Restoration 
(November  21,  18 15),  and  was  executed  in  the  AUe'e  de 
l'Observatoire,  at  the  end  of  the  garden,  on  December  7. 
The  iron  wicket  still  remains  in  the  door  of  his  prison, 
opening  west  at  the  end  of  the  great  gallery  of  archives. 


402  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  ministers  of  Charles  X.  were  also  judged  at  the  Lux- 
embourg, and  Fieschi  and  the  other  conspirators  of  July, 
1835,  were  condemned  here;  as  was  Prince  Louis  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  after  the  attempt  at  Boulogne  in  1840. 

The  Luxembourg  is  only  shown  when  the  Senate  is 
not  sitting.  The  apartments  best  worth  seeing  are  the 
Chapel  of  1844,  decorated  with  modern  paintings;  and 
the  Ancie7i7ie  Salle  du  Livre  d^or,  where  the  titles  and  arms 
of  peers  were  preserved  under  the  Restoration  and  Louis 
Philippe,  adorned  with  the  decorations  of  the  apartment 
of  Marie  de  Medicis.  The  ceiling  of  the  gallery  which 
forms  part  of  the  hall  represents  the  Apotheosis  of  Marie. 
The  arabesques  in  the  principal  hall  are  attributed  to 
Giovanni  da  Udine  :  the  ceiling  represents  Marie  de  Me- 
dicis re-establishing  the  peace  and  unity  of  France.  The 
first  floor  is  reached  by  a  great  staircase  which  occupies 
the  place  of  a  gallery  once  filled  with  the  twenty-four  great 
pictures  of  the  life  of  the  Regent  Marie  by  Rubens,  now 
in  the  Louvre.  The  oratory  of  the  queen  and  another 
room  are  now  united  to  form  the  Salle  des  Gardes,  her 
bedroom  is  the  Salle  des  Messagers  d'Etat,  and  her  recep- 
tion-room is  known  as  the  Salon  de  Napoleon  I.  The 
cupola  of  the  Salle  du  Trône  by  Alaux  represents  the  Apo- 
theosis of  the  first  emperor. 

The  Hotel  du  Petit  Ltixembourg  is  a  dependency  of  the 
greater  palace,  and  was  erected  about  the  same  time  by 
Richelieu,  who  resided  here  till  the  Palais  Royal  was 
built.  When  he  moved  thither,  he  gave  this  palace  to  his 
niece,  the  Duchesse  d'Aiguillon,  from  whom  it  passed  to 
Henri  Jules  de  Bourbon-Condé,  after  which  it  received  the 
name  of  Petit  Bourbon.  Anne,  Palatine  of  Bavaria,  lived 
here,  and  added  a  hotel  towards  the  Rue  Vaugirard  to  ac- 
commodate her  suite.     Under  the  first  empire  the  Petit 


GARDENS   OF    THE   LUXEMBOURG  403 

Luxembourg  was  occupied  for  some  time  by  Joseph  Bona- 
parte. It  is  now  the  official  residence  of  the  President  of 
the  Senate.  The  cloister  of  the  former  convent  of  the 
Filles  du  Calvaire,  whom  Marie  de  Medicis  established 
near  her  palace,  is  now  a  winter  garden  attached  to  the 
Petit  Luxembourg.  The  chapel,  standing  close  to  the 
grille  of  the  Rue  de  Vaugirard,  is  an  admirable  specimen  of 
the  renaissance  of  the  end  of  the  XVL  c.  :  on  the  summit 
of  its  gable  is  a  symbolical  Pelican  nourishing  its  young. 

Beyond  the  Petit  Luxembourg,  is  a  modern  building 
containing  the  Musée  du  Luxembourg.  The  collection 
now  in  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre  was  begun  at  the  Lux- 
embourg and  only  removed  in  1779,  when  Monsieur  came 
to  reside  here.  In  1802  a  new  gallery  was  begim  at  the 
Luxembourg,  but,  in  18 15,  its  pictures  were  removed  to 
the  Louvre  to  fill  the  places  of  those  restored  to  their 
rightful  owners  by  the  Allies.  It  was  Louis  XVIII.  who 
ordered  that  the  Luxembourg  should  receive  such  works 
of  living  artists  as  were  acquired  by  the  State.  The  col- 
lection, recently  moved  from  halls  in  the  palace  itself,  is 
always  interesting,  but  as  the  works  of  each  artist  are  re- 
moved to  the  Louvre  ten  years  after  his  death,  the  pict- 
ures are  constantly  changing.  They  are  open  to  the  pub- 
lic daily,  except  on  Mondays,  from  10  to  4  in  winter,  and 
9  to  5  in  summer. 

The  Gardens  of  the  Luxembourg^  the  "  bel-respiro  "  of 
Paris,  as  Lady  Morgan  calls  it,  are  delightful,  and  are  the 
best  type  of  an  ancient  French  palace  pleasaunce — indeed, 
they  are  now  the  prettiest  and  pleasantest  spot  in  Paris. 
Diderot,  in  his  Neveu  de  Rameau,  alludes  to  his  walks  in 
these  gardens,  and  Rousseau  took  his  daily  exercise  here, 
till  he  found  the  gardens  becoming  too  frequented  for  his 
misanthropic  disposition. 


404  WALKS  IN-  PARIS 

"  There  is  everything  in  this  garden,  and  everything  is  of  ex- 
traordinary grandeur  ;  grand  railings,  grand  long  alleys,  grand 
groves,  many  grand  gardens  filled  with  simples,  and  a  parterre 
which  is  the  most  magnificent  in  Europe." — Sauvai. 

"  The  parterre  is  indeed  of  box,  but  so  rarely  design'd  and 
accurately  kept  cut,  that  the  embroidery  makes  a  wonderful 
effect  to  the  lodgings  which  front  it.  'Tis  divided  into  four 
squares,  and  as  many  circular  knots,  having  in  ye  centre  a  noble 
basin  of  marble  neere  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  in  which  a  triton 
of  brasse  holds  a  dolphine  that  casts  a  girandola  of  water  neere 
thirty  foote  high,  playing  perpetually,  the  water  being  convey'd 
from  Arcueil  by  an  aqueduct  of  stone,  built  after  ye  old  Roman 
magnificence."— /c'/iw  Evelyn,  1644. 

There  is  a  noble  view  of  the  Pantheon  down  one  of 
the  avenues.  The  parterres  were  decorated  by  Louis 
Philippe  with  statues  of  the  queens  of  France  and  other 
illustrious  Frenchwomen,  the  best  statue  being  that  of 
Mile  de  Montpensier  by  Desmesnay.  Towards  the  Rue 
de  Medicis,  on  the  east,  is  the  handsome  fountain  of  Marie 
de  Medicis,  erected  by  Jacques  Debrosses  (1620).  The 
forcible  closing  of  these  gardens  by  the  Duchesse  de  Berry 
during  the  minority  of  Louis  XV.  was  an  early  and  fruit- 
ful source  of  irritation  for  the  people  of  Paris  against  the 
arbitrary  conduct  of  the  aristocracy.  Those  who  spend  a 
quiet  morning  hour  here  will  appreciate  the  description 
which  Victor  Hugo  gives  of  the  gardens  on  a  June  morn- 
ing. 

"  The  Luxembourg,  solitary  and  depopulated,  was  delicious. 
The  quincunxes  and  flower-beds  sent  balm  and  dazzlement  into 
the  light,  and  the  branches,  wild  in  the  brilliancy  of  midday, 
seemed  trying  to  embrace  each  other.  There  was  in  the  syca- 
mores a  twittering  of  linnets,  the  sparrows  were  triumphal,  and 
the  woodpeckers  crept  along  the  chestnut,  gently  tapping  the 
holes  in  the  bark.  The  beds  accepted  the  legitimate  royalty  of 
the  lilies,  for  the  most  august  of  perfumes  is  that  which  issues 
from  whiteness.  The  sharp  odor  of  the  carnations  was  inhaled, 
and  the  old  rooks  of  Marie  de  Medicis  made  love,on  the  lofty 


GARDENS  OF   THE  LUXEMBOURG  405 

trees.  The  sun  gilded,  purpled,  and  illumined  the  tulips,  which 
are  nothing  but  all  the  varieties  of  flame  made  into  flowers.  All 
around  the  tulip-beds  hummed  the  bees,  the  flashes  of  these  fire- 
flowers.  All  was  grace  and  gayety,  even  the  coming  shower,  for 
that  relapse,  by  which  the  lilies  and  honey-suckles  would  profit, 
had  nothing  alarming  about  it,  and  the  swallows  made  the  deli- 
cious menace  of  lying  low.  What  was  there  aspired  happiness  : 
life  smelt  pleasantly,  and  all  this  nature  exhaled  candor,  help, 
assistance,  paternity,  caresses,  and  dawn.  The  thoughts  that  fell 
from  heaven  were  as  soft  as  a  little  child's  hand  we  kiss.  The 
statues  under  the  trees,  nude  and  white,  were  robed  in  dresses  of 
shadow  shot  with  light  ;  these  goddesses  were  all  ragged  with 
sunshine,  and  beams  hung  from  them  on  all  sides.  Around  the 
great  basin  the  earth  was  already  so  dry  as  to  be  parched,  and 
there  was  a  breeze  sufficiently  strong  to  create  here  and  there 
small  riots  of  dust.  A  few  yellow  leaves  remaining  from  the  last 
autumn  joyously  pursued  each  other,  and  seemed  to  be  sporting. 
Thanks  to  the  sand,  there  was  not  a  speck  of  mud,  and,  thanks 
to  the  rain,  there  was  not  a  grain  of  ash.  The  bouquets  had  just 
performed  their  ablutions,  and  all  the  velvets,  all  the  satins,  all 
the  varnish,  and  all  the  gold  which  issue  from  the  earth  in  the 
shape  of  flowers,  were  irreproachable.  This  magnificence  was 
cleanly,  and  the  grand  silence  of  happy  nature  filled  the  garden. 
A  heavenly  silence,  compatible  with  a  thousand  strains  of  music, 
the  fondling  tones  from  the  nests,  the  buzzing  of  the  swarms, 
and  the  palpitations  of  the  wind.  The  whole  harmony  of  the 
season  was  blended  into  a  graceful  whole,  the  entrances  and  exits 
of  spring  took  place  in  the  desired  order,  the  lilacs  were  finish- 
ing, and  the  jessamine  beginning,  a  few  flowers  were  retarded,  a 
few  insects  before  their  time,  and  the  vanguard  of  the  red  butter- 
flies of  June  fraternized  with  the  rearguard  of  the  white  butter- 
flies of  May.  The  plane  trees  were  putting  on  a  fresh  skin,  and 
the  breeze  formed  undulations  in  the  magnificent  enormity  of  the 
chestnut-trees.  It  was  splendid.  A  veteran  from  the  adjoining 
barracks,  who  was  looking  through  the  railings,  said,  '  Nature  is 
wearing  her  full-dress  uniform.'  "— "  Les  Misérables:' 

The  gardens  do  not,  however,  always  produce  such  a 
favorable  impression. 

"  Dare  you  venture  your  feet  into  the  depths  of  the  trans- 
pontine suburb?  The  sight  of  the  veteran,  sad  and  solemn  as 
Time,— will  it    not  make  you  pause  at  the  gates  of  the  Luxem- 


4o6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

bourg  ?  Children  cry,  nurses  scold,  go  on  quickly  ;  then  some 
old  men,  who  live  on  their  incomes,  display  their  gout,  their 
rheumatism,  their  phthisis,  or  their  paralysis  ;  go  on  quickly 
again.  The  Luxembourg  is  the  meeting-place  of  dyspeptic  and 
tiresome  old  age,  and  crying  and  troublesome  infancy  ;  sticks 
and  perambulators  are  met  at  every  step  ;  the  place  is  the  Elysium 
of  the  gouty,  the  fatherland  of  nurses." — Balzac,  ''Esquisses 
Parisienjies." 

Close  to  the  Luxembourg,  on  the  north-east,  is  the 
great  Odeon  Theatre  (by  Wailly  and  Peyre),  which  occu- 
pies the  site  of  the  older  Hôtel  de  Condé.  In  its  earlier 
existence  this  was  the  Hôtel  de  Gondi,  having  been  bought 
by  Jérôme  de  Gondi,  Duc  de  Retz,  one  of  an  Italian 
family  who  came  to  France  in  the  service  of  Catherine  de 
Medicis,  and  made  an  immense  fortune  there.  Being  sold 
for  debt,  the  hotel  was  acquired  (in  1612)  by  Henri  de 
Bourbon,  Prince  de  Condé,  but  his  son  left  it  for  the  sec- 
ond Hôtel  de  Condé,  near  the  Louvre. 

In  the  Rue  M.  le  Prince  (a  little  east)  is  the  house — 
No.  10 — where  Comte  lived  and  wrote  \\\?,  Positive  Polity. 
He  occupied  the  first  floor,  where  his  rooms  are  preserved 
by  the  Positivists  in  the  same  state  in  which  he  left  them 
at  his  death — his  salon,  bedroom,  bed,  sofa,  and  even  his 
old  clothes  in  the  cupboard,  are  cherished.  He  was  buried 
at  Père  Lachaise. 

The  Rue  de  Tournon  leads  direct  north  from  the  en- 
trance of  the  Luxembourg.  It  was  at  the  angle  of  this 
street  and  the  Rue  du  Petit  Bourbon  that  the  furious 
Duchesse  de  Montpensier  lived,  sister  of  the  Guises  mur- 
dered at  Blois.  Here  she  is  said  to  have  plotted  the  mur- 
der of  Henry  HI.,  and  here  she  received  the  mother  of 
Jacques  Clément,  when  she  came  from  her  village  of  Sor- 
bonne,  near  Sens,  to  claim  a  reward  for  the  assassination 
by  her  son,  and  returned,  having  obtained  it,  and  accom- 


RUE   PÉROU  407 

panied  by  140  ecclesiastics  as  a  guard  of  honor  for  a  league 
out  of  the  town, 

'"  The  man  who  brought  the  first  news  to  the  Duchess  of 
Montpensier  (Catherine  Marie  de  Lorraine)  and  her  mother,  Mme 
de  Nemours,  was  received  as  a  savior  ;  the  duchess  flung  her 
arms  round  his  neck  and  kissed  him,  crying,  '  Ah,  my  friend, 
welcome  !  But  it  is  true,  is  it  not?  Is  the  scoundrel,  the  traitor, 
the  tyrant,  dead  ?  God,  how  you  relieve  me  !  I  am  only  crossed 
by  one  thing  ;  that  is,  that  he  did  not  know  before  he  died  that  it 
was  I  who  had  him  killed  !  '  " — Pmil  Lacroix. 

The  Hotel  de  V E7iiperew  Joseph  (No.  33  at  the  top  of 
the  street  on  the  right),  is  where  that  prince,  who  preferred 
an  inn,  staid  when  he  came  to  visit  his  sister  Marie  Antoi- 
nette. An  inscription  at  No.  34  marks  the  house  where 
the  tragic  actor  Henri  Lekain  was  living  at  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1778.  No.  6,  on  the  left,  formerly  known  as  the 
Hotel  Nii^ernais^  of  the  XVIII.  c,  stands  on  the  site  of  the 
Hôtel  of  Concini,  Maréchal  d'Ancre,  minister  of  Marie  de 
Medicis  ;  it  is  low,  and  built  of  light  materials,  for  fear  it 
should  go  through  to  the  catacombs  beneath. 

Along  the  front  of  the  Luxembourg  runs  the  Rue  de 
Vaugirard.  Here,  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Ferou  (right), 
is,  nearly  unaltered,  the  Hotel  de  Madame  de  la  Fayette. 

"  The  garden  of  Mme  de  la  Fayette  is  the  prettiest  thing  in 
the  world,  all  flowers  and  perfume.  We  pass  many  an  evening 
there,  for  the  poor  woman  dare  not  go  in  a  carriage." — Mme  dc 
Sévi^né,  30  mai,  1672. 

At  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Cassette  (right)  is  the  Hbtel 
de  Hemiisdal,  formerly  de  Brissac,  named  in  golden  letters 
above  its  gate,  and  retaining  its  old  garden,  with  a  grille  of 
1704. 

No.  70  is  the  Dominican  convent  to  which  the  famous 
Père  Lacordaire  belonged.  The  foundation  stone  of  its 
chapel  was  laid  by  Marie  de  Medicis  in  161 2.     The  heart 


4o8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

of  Archbishop  Affre,  killed  on  the  Barricade  St.  Antoine, 
in  the  revolution  of  1848,  is  preserved  here,  and  the 
epitaph  of  Cardinal  de  Beausset,  historian  of  Fe'nelon  and 
Bossuet. 

As  Les  Carmes^  this  convent  (founded  by  Louis  XIII.) 
was  the  scene  of  the  terrible  massacre  of  priests  in  Sep- 
tember, 1792. 

"The  massacre  of  the  priests  who  were  in  the  Abbaye  being 
finished,  the  other  prisons,  containing  a  much  larger  number, 
were  opened  to  the  assassins.  They  went,  first,  to  the  Carmelite 
Convent,  whither  the  municipality  had  sent,  a  few  days  pre- 
viously, one  hundred  and  eighty-five  priests,  including  three 
archbishops  or  bishops  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Archbishop  of  Aries 
(Dulau),  late  agent  of  the  clergy,  and  one  of  the  prelates  of  the 
Church  of  France,  most  estimable  for  his  profound  views,  his 
zeal  and  his  virtues  ;  the  Bishop  of  Beauvais  (La  Rochefoucauld) 
and  his  brother,  the  Bishop  of  Saintes.  They  were  all  made  to 
leave  the  church  half  an  hour  before  the  arrival  of  the  murderers, 
and  to  pass  into  the  garden  after  a  roll-call  had  proved  that  no 
one  was  absent.  The  threatening  cries  that  they  heard  from  all 
sides,  the  pikes  and  sabres  which  they  saw  gleaming  through  the 
rails  and  barred  windows  that  looked  into  the  garden  told  them 
that  their  last  hour  had  come,  and  they  awaited  it  with  the  most 
heroic  resignation. 

"Four  o'clock  struck;  the  murderers  entered  the  church, 
belching  out  oaths  and  insults  well  fitted  to  revive  and  augment 
their  rage  and  harden  them  to  the  greatest  crimes.  After  having 
assured  themselves  that  no  priest  was  hidden  in  the  church,  they 
sallied  out  by  the  gate  which  leads  to  the  garden.  This  gate, 
guarded  by  the  National  Gendarmerie,  was  opened  to  them  with- 
out the  least  resistance.  At  their  approach  the  priests  dispersed  ; 
some,  in  the  hope  of  saving  themselves,  climbed  trees,  or  scaled 
walls,  with  a  view  of  flinging  themselves  into  the  street  or  the  yards 
of  the  adjacent  houses  ;  these  were  the  first  to  be  chased,  and 
they  were  nearly  all  brought  down  by  muskets  ;  then  sabres,  pikes, 
and  bayonets  finished  the  slaughter.  Others  scattered  through 
the  garden  and  quietly  awaited  their  lot  ;  others,  almost  thirty  in 
number,  gathered  around  the  three  prelates,  in  a  little  chapel  at 
the  end  of  the  garden,  and  there,  on  their  knees,  implored  divine 
mercy,  mutually  bestowing  the  benediction,  and  embracing  each 


LES   CARMES  409 

other  for  the  last  time.  Ten  ruffians  advanced;  one  of  the  priests 
stepped  out  to  speak  with  them,  but  a  ball  struck  him  and  laid 
him  low.  The  murderers  called  aloud  for  the  Archbishop  of 
Aries  ;  no  one  replied  ;  one  of  them  recognized  him  by  the 
description  that  had  been  given  of  him.  'Thou,  then,'  he  said, 
'art  the  Archbishop  of  Aries?'  '  Gentlemen,  I  am,'  the  prelate 
replied  coolly.  'Wretch,  thou  wert  the  man  who  shed  the  blood 
of  the  patriots  of  Aries.'  'Gentlemen,  I  have  never  caused  the 
shedding  of  any  one's  blood,  and  never  in  my  life  have  I  done 
harm  to  any  one  !  '  'Well,  I'll  do  some  to  thee,'  and  with  these 
words  he  struck  him  across  the  brow  with  a  sabre.  The  arch- 
bishop remained  motionless  ;  he  received  a  second  stroke  on  the 
face,  and  his  blood,  streaming  in  great  jets,  deluged  him  till  he 
was  past  recognition.  A  third  blow  struck  him  down  ;  he  fell 
without  uttering  the  slightest  complaint  ;  one  of  the  wretches 
thrust  his  pike  into  his  chest  with  such  violence  that  he  could  not 
withdraw  it  ;  he  then  leaped  on  the  palpitating  corpse,  trampled 
on  it,  pulled  out  the  broken  pike,  stole  his  watch,  and  gave  it 
with  an  air  of  triumph  to  one  of  his  comrades  as  the  trophy  and 
just  reward  of  his  ferocity.  Thus  was  completed  the  martyrdom 
of  the  venerable  prelate,  whose  death  and  life  were  equally  honor- 
able to  religion. 

"  The  other  two  bishops  were  still  kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar  with  the  priests  who  had  joined  them.  A  railing  separated 
them  from  the  murderers  ;  the  latter  fired  repeatedly  point-blank 
and  killed  most  of  them.  The  Bishop  of  Beauvais  survived  this 
first  massacre,  but  the  Bishop  of  Saintes  had  his  leg  broken.  The 
ten  assassins  then  joined  their  comrades,  who  were  chasing  and 
killing  the  priests  scattered  through  the  garden.  This  horrible 
butchery  lasted  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour  longer,  when  a  man, 
undoubtedly  sent  by  Danton,  ran  in  and  stopped  the  firing,  sa)'- 
ing,  '  Gentlemen,  this  is  not  the  way  to  do  it,  you  are  mismanaging 
it  sadly  ;  do  as  I  tell  )^ou  !  '  Then  he  ordered  the  priests  to  be  put 
into  the  church  again.  All  those  who  could  walk  were  driven  in 
by  blows  from  the  fiat  of  a  sabre  ;  about  a  hundred  remained,  the 
two  bishops  in  the  number  ;  the  Bishop  of  Saintes,  having  his 
leg  broken,  was  carried  in  by  the  assassins  and  laid  on  a  mattress. 
The  arranger  of  this  new  manoeuvre  then  placed  a  sufficient 
number  of  assassins  at  the  foot  of  the  stair  that  went  down  to  the 
garden,  and  ordered  the  priests  to  be  brought  out  two  by  two  ; 
then  as  they  came  out  they  were  killed.  When  the  turn  of  the 
Bishop  of  Beauvais  came  they  went  to  seize  him  at  the  foot  of  " 


4IO 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


the  altar  which  he  was  embracing  and  clinging  to  ;  he  rose  and 
went  to  die.  The  Bishop  of  Saintes  was  one  of  the  last  sum- 
moned ;  the  National  Gendarmes,  who  surrounded  the  bed,  pre- 
vented his  being  seen,  and  seemed  to  be  anxious  to  save  him, 
but  the  cowards,  though  equal  in  number  to  the  assassins  and 
better  armed,  permitted  them  to  take  him  out.  He  replied  to  the 
executioners  who  ordered  him  to  follow  them,  '  I  do  not  refuse 
to  die  like  the  others,  but  you  sec  the  state  I  am  in  ;  I  have  a  leg 
broken.  I  beg  you  to  help  me  to  support  myself.'  Two  ruffians 
took  him  under  the  arms  and  thus  led  him  to  execution. 

"At  half-past  seven  in  the  evening,  the  massacre  of  the 
priests  being  nearly  over,  either  from  the  small  number  remaining 
to  be  slaughtered,  or  from  the  weariness  of  the  murderers,  the 
doors  of  the  church  were  opened  to  the  people  in  order  that  it 
might  legitimatize  by  its  presence  the  horrible  deeds  just  com- 
mitted, to  which  it  assured  impunity.  One  man,  stepping  out 
from  the  crowd  of  spectators,  advanced  to  the  murderers,  dared 
to  speak  to  them  of  humanity,  and  by  flattering  them  succeeded 
in  saving  some  priests  who  remained,  and  whom  he-  made  step 
behind  him.  'The  people,'  he  said,  'is  always  just  in  its  venge- 
ance, and  the  priests  are  wretches,  who  deserve  any  punish- 
ment, even  death,  but  the  law  demands  that  they  be  judged.' 
The  number  of  those  saved  by  this  harangue,  and  of  those  who 
escaped  by  climbing  the  garden  walls,  was  about  thirty-four  ;  one 
hundred  and  fifty-one  were  murdered,  and  some  laymen  who  had 
been  committed  to  the  Carmes  met  the  same  fate.  At  the  Semi- 
nary of  St.  Firmin,  the  number  of  priests  martyred  was  eighty- 
eight  ;  only  fifteen  escaped  the  steel  of  the  murderers.  This 
horrible  event,  announced  first  by  Tallien  and  then  by  Danton, 
in  the  discourses  they  delivered  in  the  assembly,  was  not  the 
unforeseen  effect  of  a  popular  movement  or  of  a  spontaneous  out- 
break of  ruffians  ;  it  was  the  result  of  a  plan  carefully  made  some 
days  before.  The  grave-digger  of  the  parish  of  St.  Sulpice 
received  in  advance  an  assignat  of  one  hundred  crowns  for 
preparing  at  Montrouge  the  pit  to  which  the  bodies  were  trans- 
ported the  next  day  in  ten  tumbrels.  Danton,  Robespierre, 
Marat,  Tallien,  and  some  other  members  of  the  commune  were 
the  authors  of  this  plan  and  the  principal  arrangers  of  its  execu- 
tion. Three  or  four  hundred  ruffians,  selected  from  the  Mar- 
seillais and  Xhe  féd/rés,  were  their  instruments.  The  people  took 
part  only  in  the  last  acts  of  massacre  committed  at  the  Carmes, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  only  appeared  to  puta  stop  to  them.     The 


UNIVERSITÉ    CATIlblIQUE   DE   PARIS        411 

people  did  not  enter  the  Seminary  of  St,  Firmin  where  the  priests 
were  killed  in  the  dormitories,  cells,  «S:c,  ;  it  saw  only  those 
hurled  alive  from  the  windows,  who  were  slaughtered  in  the 
street  by  the  murderers  outside,  with  blows  from  hatchets." — 
Bertrand  de  Moleville,  "Annales.'' 

The  historic  chapel,  in  which  the  priests  were  murdered, 
was  destroyed  by  the  opening  of  the  Rue  de  Rennes  in 
1867.  Their  bones  were  transferred  to  a  crypt  under  the 
church  (open  on  Fridays). 

The  well-known  Eau  de  Mélisse  was  first  made  at  this 
convent. 

"  The  devotion  of  the  faithful  was  not  the  only  mine  worked 
by  the  Bare-footed  Carmelites  ;  they  possessed  the  secret  of  two 
compositions  in  which  they  drove  a  rattling  trade  :  Carmelite 
7vhitc,  a  white  which  gave  to  the  surfaces  of  walls  to  which  it 
was  applied  the  brilliancy  of  polished  marble,  and  Eaii  de  Mélisse, 
called  also  Cai-melite  Water.  There  was  not  a  fashionable  lady  in 
Paris  who  did  not  carry  a  flask  of  it." — Dulaure,  ''Hist,  de  Paris 
{sous  Louis  XIII.)" 

No.  74  Rue  de  Vaugirard  is  the  Université  Catholique 
de  Paris,  founded  (1875)  by  thirty  archbishops  and  bishops 
of  France. 

Near  the  corner  of  the  Boulevard  Montparnasse  stood 
the  Hotel  de  Turenne  of  the  XVII.  c,  probably  the  house 
where  Mme  de  Maintenon  brought  up  the  children  of 
Louis  XIV.  and  Mme  de  Montespan.  At  the  end  of  the 
Rue  de  Vaugirard  is  the  Barrière  of  the  same  name,  out- 
side which  is  the  Cimetere  de  Vaugirard  (now  closed). 

"  It  was  what  might  be  called  a  faded  cemetery,  and  it  was 
falling  into  decay  ;  green  mould  was  invading  it,  and  the  flowers 
deserted  it.  Respectable  tradesmen  did  not  care  to  be  buried  at 
Vaugirard,  for  it  had  a  poverty-stricken  smell.  Le  père  Lachaise, 
if  you  like  !  to  be  buried  there  was  like  having  a  mahogany  suit 
of  furniture.  The  Vaugirard  cemetery  was  a  venerable  enclosure, 
laid  out  like  an  old  French  garden  ;  in  it  were  straight  walks, 
box-trees,  holbMrees.  old  tombs  under  old  yew-trees,   and   very 


412 


WALA^S  IN  PARIS 


tall  grass.      At  night  it  was  a  tragical-looking  spot." — Les  Misér- 
ables. 

Returning  down  the  Rue  de  Vaugirard  to  the  front  of 
the  Luxembourg,  the  Rj^c  Garanciere  leads  towards  the 
river.  The  Hotel  de  la  Duchesse  de  Savoie  (No.  8)  was 
built  by  F.  Gautier  in  1538.     In  the  time  of  Charles  IX. 


HOTEL   DE    LA   DUCHESSE    DE   èAVOIE. 


it  belonged  to  Marguerite  de  France,  Duchesse  de  Berry, 
and  wife  of  Emmanuel  Philibert,  Duc  de  Savoie.  She 
gave  it,  in  gratitude  for  his  services,  to  her  secretary,  Ray- 
mond Forget,  who  sculptured  the  words  "  de  la  libe'ralite 
de  ma  princesse  "  above  the  portal.  At  one  time  the 
hotel  was  inhabited  by  the  Marquis  de  Sourdaic,  one  of 


ST.    SU  LP  I  CE  412 

the  creators  of  the  Opera.  It  preserves  its  façade  of  tall 
Corinthian  pilasters,  with  heavy  capitals  adorned  with  rams' 
heads  and  foliage,  and  its  court,  where  Mile  Lecouvreur 
made  her  début  in  an  impromptu  theatre.  The  fountain  in 
this  street  was  erected  (in  17 15)  by  Anne  of  Bavaria, 
widow  of  the  Prince  de  Condé.  At  No.  19  Rue  Visconti, 
near  this,  is  the  Hotel  de  René  d'Argouges,  where  Racine 
lived  at  one  time,  and  where  Lecouvreur  lived  for  some 
years  and  died. 

At  the  end  of  the  Rue  Garanciere  we  reach  (left)  the 
east  end  of  the  Church  of  St.  Sulpice,  perhaps  the  finest 
example  of  the  peculiar  phase  of  architecture  to  which  it 
belongs.  A  parish  church  was  built  on  this  site  in  the 
XII.  c.  In  the  XVII.  c.  its  rebuilding  was  begun  from 
designs  of  Gamart,  Gaston  d'Orléans  laying  the  first  stone  ; 
but  it  was  soon  found  that  this  church  would  be  too  small, 
and  Anne  of  Austria  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
present  building,  finished  in  1749,  under  the  Florentine 
Giovanni  Servandoni,  who  is  commemorated  in  the  name 
of  a  neighboring  street.  The  original  plan  of  Servandoni 
would  have  made  the  church  a  model  of  modern  architect- 
ure. The  façade,  which  presents  two  ranges  of  porticoes, 
doric  and  ionic,  is  exceedingly  noble  and  imposing.  On 
either  side  are  square  pavilions,  upon  which  Servandoni 
erected  two  towers,  but  these  were  thought  so  bad  that, 
after  his  death,  one  Maclaurin  was  employed  to  rebuild 
them  j  since  that,  the  tower  on  the  north,  which  is  different 
to  the  other,  was,  a  second  time,  rebuilt  by  Chalgrin,  in 
1777.  Under  the  Revolution  the  church  became  a  Temple 
of  Victory,  and  the  great  banquet  to  Napoleon  on  his 
return  from  Egypt,  was  given  within  its  walls. 

The  interior  is  chiefly  striking  from  its  vast  propor- 
tions.    Its  chapels  are    decorated  with  marble  from  the 


414 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


cascade  at  Marly.^  In  the  pavement  of  the  south  transept 
is  a  meridian  line^  traced  by  Lemonnier  in  1743.  The 
ugly  pulpit  given  (1788)  by  the  Maréchal  de  Richelieu  is 
surmounted  by  a  group  representing  Charity  surrounded 
by  children.  The  organ  (1862)  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
Europe. 

In  the  first  chapel  (of  St.  Agnes)  on  the  right  are  three 
great  frescoes  by  Eughie  Delacroix — St.  Michael  triumph- 
ing over  Satan  (on  the  ceiling)  ;  Heliodorus  thrown  down 
and  beaten  with  rods  ;  and  Jacob  wrestling  with  the  angel. 
All  are  fine,  but  the  last  is  the  most  remarkable. 

"The  figures  do  not  hold  the  principal  place  here.  It  may  be 
said  they  are  only  accessories,  such  passion  and  life,  such  an 
active  and  animated  rôle  are  displayed  in  the  landscape.  From 
the  foreground  to  the  crest  of  those  mountains  gilded  by  the  ris- 
ing sun,  all  is  captivating  and  winning  in  this  strong  conception, 
which  has  no  parallel,  even  among  the  Italian  masters  who  have 
treated  most  broadly,  decorative  landscape.  Nothing  is  common- 
place, nothing  useless.  How  skilfully  is  that  hollow  way  thrown 
across  that  pendant  corner  of  the  picture  !  How  you  can  see, 
passing  in  the  dust,  these  flocks,  shepherds,  women  and  chil- 
dren !  How  one  can  trace  afar  off,  the  meanders  of  that  long 
caravan,  and  how  all  that  world  runs  noisily  on,  without  dream- 
ing that  a  lonely  struggle  is  going  on  within  two  paces." — 
Z.  Vitety  '^  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes"  April,  1862. 

In  the  fifth  chapel  is  the  tomb  of  the  Cure'  Languet 
(1750),  a  fine  work  of  Michel- Ange  Slodtz.  The  magni- 
ficent chapel  of  the  Virgin  (with  an  illusory  effect  of 
lights),  behind  the  high-altar,  is  from  designs  of  Wailly  ; 
its  sculptured  decorations  are  by  Slodtz,  the  others  by' 
Vanloo.     The  statue  of  the  Virgin  is  by  Pajou. 

The  third  chapel  (of  St.  Paul),  on  the  left  in  descend- 
ing the  nave,  has,  in  its  frescoes,  the  best  works  of  Drolli7ig. 
Against  the  wall  of  the  left  transept  is  a  curious  Gnomon 

»  Diderot. 


^7'.    GERMAIN  DES  PRES  415 

Astronomicus.  In  the  crypt  are  statues  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  John  the  EvangeHst  by  Pradier.  The  Church  of  St. 
Sulpice  is  one  of  those  especially  frequented  on  New 
Year's  Eve. 

Members  of  the  royal  family  buried  at  St.  Sulpice  have 
been— Marie  de  Bourbon,  Princesse  de  Savoie-Carignan, 
1656  ;  the  Princesse  de  Luxembourg,  wife  of  Louis  Henri 
de  Bourbon-Soissons,  1736  ;  her  daughter,  Louise  de  Bour- 
bon-Soissons,  Duchesse  de  Luynes,  1758;  Charles  de  St. 
Albin,  Archbishop  of  Cambrai,  bastard  of  the  Regent  of 
Orleans,  1764  ;  Louise-Elizabeth  de  Bourbon  Conde,  Prin- 
cesse de  Conti,  granddaughter  of  Louis  XIV.,  1775  ;  and 
Louise- Elizabeth  d'Orléans,  Queen  of  Spain,  daughter  of 
the  Regent,  1742. 

The  handsome  Fountain  of  St.  Sulpice  (1847)  is  from 
designs  of  Visconti,  and  is  adorned  with  statues  of  the 
four  most  celebrated  French  preachers — Bossuet  (1704), 
Fenelon  (1715),  Massillon  (1742),  and  Fle'chier  (1710). 
A  flower-market  is  held  here  on  Mondays  and  Thursdays. 

A  little  east  of  St,  Sulpice  is  the  Marché  St.  Germain. 
The  fountain  in  the  market  formerly  decorated  the  Place 
St.  Sulpice.  In  the  adjoining  Rue  Lobinot  a  bird-market 
is  held  every  Sunday  morning. 

Continuing  north  from  St.  Sulpice,  we  soon  reach  the 
modern  Boulevard  St.  Germain.  One  of  the  streets  which 
cross  it,  Rue  Grégoire  de  lours,  in  its  former  name  of  Rue 
des  Mauvais  Garçons,  commemorated  the  wild  conduct  of 
the  neighboring  university  students. 

Included  in  the  line  of  the  modern  Boulevard  is  the 
famous  church  of  St.  Germain  des  Prés.  When  (in  542) 
Childebert  (son  of  Clovis)  was  besieging  Saragossa  in 
Spain,  he  was  astonished  to  see  that  the  inhabitants  used 
no  arms  for  their  defence,  but  were  satisfied  with  walking 


41 6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

round  the  walls  chaunting  and  bearing  with  them  the  tunic 
of  St.  Vincent.  This  inspired  the  superstitious  king  with 
such  terror  that  he  raised  the  siege,^  and,  when  he  returned 
to  France,  persuaded  the  Bishop  of  Saragossa  to  allow  him 
to  bring  the  precious  relic  with  him.-  To  receive  the 
blessed  garment  and  other  relics  he  built  a  monastery  and 
church  on  this  site,  and  on  December  23,  558,  the  church 
was  consecrated  as  the  Basilica  of  St.  Vincent  and  St. 
Croix  by  St.  Germain,  Bishop  of  Paris,  who  was  buried 
within  its  walls  in  576,  after  which  it  was  called  St.  Ger- 
main and  St.  Vincent,  and  was  known  from  its  splendor  as 
"the  golden  basilica."  As  the  burial-place  of  Merovin- 
gian kings  the  monastery  soon  became  rich  and  celebrated. 
Its  estates  included  the  whole  south  bank  of  the  Seine, 
from  the  Petit  Pont  in  Paris  to  Sèvres.  The  Kings  Childe- 
bert  I.,  Caribert,  Chilperic  I.,  Clotaire  II.,  Childeric  IL; 
the  Queens  Ultrogothe,  Fredegonde,  Bertrude,  and  Bili- 
hilde  ;  the  Merovingian  princes  Clovis  and  Dagobert  ;  with 
Chrodesinde  and  Chrotberge,  daughters  of  Childebert  I., 
were  interred  within  its  walls  ;  and  here  many  of  their 
bodies  were  seen  lying  on  beds  of  spices,  wrapped  in  pre- 
cious stuffs  embroidered  in  gold,  when  their  plain  stone- 
coffins  were  opened  at  the  Revolution.^  In  861  the  mon- 
astery was  burnt  by  the  Normans,  was  restored,  and  de- 
stroyed again  in  886.  The  existing  church,  begun  by  the 
twenty-ninth  Abbot,  Morardus  (990-1019),  was  only  finished 
in  the  following  century,  and  was  dedicated  by  Pope  Alex- 
ander III.  in  1 163.  The  tomb  of  Childebert  was  then 
placed  in  the  centre  of  the  present  building.  From  its 
riches,  the  abbacy  was  usually  given  to  a  cardinal,  some- 
times to  kings.     Up  to  1503  the  abbots  were  elected  by 

*  Gregory  of  Tours,  iii.  21.  ^  Gesta  Regum  Francorum,  xxvi. 

=»  What  remains  of  their  tombs  is  now  at  St.  Denis. 


ST.    GERMAIN  DES  PRÉS 


417 


the  monks,  but  afterwards  the  Crown  insisted  on  appoint- 
ing, and  Hugues  Capet,  King  of  France,  and  Casimir  V. 
of  Poland,  were  amongst  the  abbots  of  St.  Germain  des 
Prés.  The  Comte  du  Vexin,  son  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Mme 
de  Montespan,  died  as  abbot,  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Germain 
des  Prés  (1683),  aged  ten  and  a  half  years.     The  abbey 


PALACE  OF  THE  ABBOT  OF  ST.    GERMAIN   DES    PRÉS. 


(whose  first  monks  were  brought  from  St.  Symphorien  at 
Auxerre  by  St.  Germain)  long  stood  isolated  in  the  midst 
of  the  meadows  called  the  Pré  aux  Clercs,  fortified  on  all 
sides  by  towers,  and  by  a  moat  supplied  by  a  canal  called 
la  Petite  Seine,  and  entered  by  three  gates.  The  refectory 
was  one  of  the  noblest  works  of  Pierre  de   Montereau 


4^3  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

(1240)— a  vaulted  hall,  115  feet  long  by  32  feet  wide, 
lighted  on  each  side  by  sixteen  stained  windows,  and  pos- 
sessing a  beautiful  reader's-pulpit :  "portée  sur  un  gros 
cul-de-lampe  chargé  d'un  grand  cep  de  vigne  coupé  et 
fouillé  avec  une  patience  incroyable."  ^  This  hall,  and  the 
famous  and  beautiful  chapel  of  Notre  Dame,  also  built  by 
Pierre  de  Montereau  (1239-1255),  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Rue  de  l'Abbaye,  where  one  of  the  gables  of  the 
refectory  still  exists,  built  into  a  house  on  the  left.  On  the 
north  of  the  church  were  the  cloisters,  built  by  Abbot  Oddo 
in  1277. 

The  principal  entrance  of  the  church  is  in  the  Rue 
Bonaparte.  It  dates  from  the  XVII.  c,  but  encloses  some 
precious  fragments  of  the  XII.  c.  romanesque  portal 
(altered  by  a  gothic  arch),  which  has  a  bas-relief  of  the 
Last  Supper  on  its  lintel.  Till  the  Revolution  there  were 
four  statues  on  either  side  of  the  porch,  supposed  to  repre- 
sent St.  Germain,  Clovis,  Clotilde,  Clodomir,  Childebert 
and  Ultrogothe,  Clotaire  and  Chilperic.  The  porch  is 
under  the  romanesque  belfry,  which  has  two  round-headed 
windows  on  each  side  of  its  upper  story,  and  a  tall  spire 
covered  with  slates.  Two  other  towers,  less  lofty,  stood  at 
the  angles  of  the  choir  and  transept,  and  gave  the  popular 
name  of  "  l'église  aux  trois  clochers  "  to  St.  Germain,  but 
were  destroyed  in  1822  to  avoid  the  expense  of  their  re- 
pair :  only  the  bases  remain.  The  choir  and  apse  are  sur- 
rounded by  chapels,  some  square,  some  polygonal.  Ex- 
cept some  capitals  and  some  columns  employed  in  the 
apsidal  gallery,  which  belonged  to  the  church  of  Childe- 
bert, nothing  which  we  see  is  earlier  than  the  XI.  c. 

The  interior  is  an  interesting  specimen  of  transidon. 
The  arches  of  the  nave,  which  has  no  triforium,  are  roman- 

*  Lebœuf,  Hist,  de  Paris^  i.  341. 


ST.    GERMAIN  DES  PRÉS  419 

esque,  of  the  time  of  the  Abbot  Morardus  ;  the  choir  was 
added  by  Abbot  Hugues  III.  in  1163.  The  original  capi- 
tals of  the  nave  were  carried  to  the  Palais  des  Thermes  by 
the  absurdity  of  a  "restoration"  in  1824,  and  replaced 
here  by  copies,  which,  however,  have  not  the  slightest  re- 
semblance to  them.  A  polychrome  decoration  by  Hippo- 
lyte  Flandrin,  though  its  pictures  are  admirable  as  works 
of  art,  has,  since  1845,  spoilt  the  interior  of  St.  Germain. 
The  XIII.  c.  statue  of  Childebert  and  the  mosaic  monu- 
ment of  Fredegonde,  preserved  by  Alexandre  Lenoir  at 
the  Revolution,  are  now  at  St.  Denis  ;  the  tombs  of  St. 
Germain,  Chilperic,^  and  Bilihilde  were  destroyed.  Very 
few  objects  of  interest  remain.  In  the  right  aisle  near  the 
west  door,  surrounded  by  burning  lights,  is  the  statue  of 
Notre  Datne  la  Blanche,  given  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis  by 
Queen  Jeanne  d'Evreux  in  1340,  and  brought  here  after 
the  Revolution.  The  chapel  of  St.  Symphorien  (the  last 
on  the  south  of  the  nave),  consecrated  by  St.  François  de 
Sales  in  16 19,  replaces  that  where  St.  Germain  was  origi- 
nally buried.  In  the  chapel  of  St.  Marguerite,  in  the 
transept,  are  a  statue  of  St.  Marguerite  by  Jacques  Bour- 
let,  monk  of  the  abbey,  and  the  tomb  of  Olivier  and  Louis 
de  Castellan,  killed  in  the  service  of  the  king  (1644,  1669), 
by  Girardon. 

The  first  chapel  of  the  apse  contains  the  tomb  of  James 
Douglas  (1645),  who  died  in  the  service  of  Louis  XIII., 
with  his  figure  on  a  sarcophagus.  A  number  of  the  members 
of  this  family  are  buried  under  the  chapel  of  St.  Christophe. ^ 
The  second  chapel  contains  the  black  gravestones  (now 
raised  against  the  wall)  of  Descartes,  Montfaucon  and  Ma- 
billon,  all  Benedictine  monks  of  this  abbey,  after  it  was 

1  Vv  .iich  had  the  simple  inscription  :  "  Rex  Chilpericus  hoc  tegitur  lapide." 
*  Hisi.  de  P Abbaye  de  St.  Germain  des  Fres.  p.  215. 


420 


IVALKS  IN  PARIS 


incorporated  with  the  congregation  of  St.  Maur.  In  the 
third  chapel  (of  Sts.  Pierre  et  Paul)  left  of  the  choir  (in 
descending)  is  the  inscription  which  marked  the  remains 
of  Boileau,  transported  hither  from  the  Sainte  Chapelle  in 
1819.  In  the  fourth,  is  the  tomb  of  William,  Earl  of 
Douglas,  1611,  who  died  in  the  service  of  Henri  IV. 

"  In  the  abbey  church  of  St.  Germain  des  Prés  at  Paris,  is  the 
chapel  of  St.  Marguerite,  which  had  been  granted  to  the  noble 
family  of  Douglas.  I  have  seen  the  tomb  of  William,  the  seven- 
teenth earl,  v^ho  died  in  161 1.  He  had  been  bred  in  the  new 
religion,  which  was  preached  in  that  age  ;  but  coming  to  Paris  in 
the  reign  of  Henri  HI.,  he  was  converted  by  sermons  at  the  Sor- 
bonne.  Having  abjured  these  errors,  he  returned  to  Scotland. 
Though  full  of  piety  towards  God  and  of  fidelity  towards  his  king, 
he  was  persecuted  for  the  Catholic  faith,  and  was  given  his  choice 
either  of  a  prison  or  banishment.  He  preferred  the  latter,  and 
returned  to  France,  where  he  ended  his  days  in  the  practice  of 
great  devotion.  He  was  so  given  to  prayer,  that  he  used  to  attend 
the  canonical  hours  of  the  abbey  church,  and  he  used  even  to  rise 
at  midnight,  though  the  doors  of  the  abbey  were  always  shut  at 
matins.  He  died  greatly  honored,  and  reverenced  by  all  classes, 
in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age." — Kenelm  Digby,  "  Broadstone 
of  Honora 

In  the  left  transept  is  a  striking  statue  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier  by  Coustou  le  jeune,  and  the  tomb  of  John  Casimir, 
King  of  Poland,  who  became  abbot  of  St.  Germain  in  1669, 
and  died  in  1672.  The  kneeling  statue  of  the  king  is  by 
Marsy.  The  relief  below,  by  Jean  Thibaut,  a  Benedictine 
monk,  represents  à  victory  over  the  Turks.  In  the  left  aisle 
of  the  nave  is  a  good  modern  monument  erected  to  Hippo- 
lyte  Flandrin  (1864)  by  his  pupils  and  admirers. 

The  columns  which  supported  a  baldacchino  over  the 
high-altar,  and  which  were  brought  from  the  ruins  of  a 
Roman  town  in  Africa  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  are  now 
part  of  the  decorations  of  the  picture-gallery  of  the  Louvre. 


RUE   DE  L'ABBAYE  421 

Nothing  remains  of  the  splendid  shrine  of  St.  Germain, 
which  contained  160  precious  stones  and  197  pearls. 

When  Henri  IV.  was  besieging  Paris  in  1589,  and  his 
army  was  encamped  in  the  Pré  aux  Clercs,  he  wished  to 
examine  Paris  unobserved,  and  mounted  the  tower  of  St. 
Germain,  accompanied  by  a  single  monk.  "  Une  appre- 
hension m'a  saisi,"  he  said,  when  he  came  down,  to  the 
Maréchal  de  Biron,  "étant  seul  avec  un  moine,  et  me 
souvenant  du  couteau  de  frère  Clément." 

The  precious  library  of  St.  Germain  des  Prés  was 
spared  at  first  in  the  Revolution,  but  perished  by  fire 
August  19,  1794,  except  10,000  MS.,  which  were  added  to 
the  Bibliothèque  Nationale. 

In  the  garden  attached  to  the  church,  towards  the  Bou- 
levard St.  Germain,  is  a  Statue  of  Bernard  Palissy  by 
Barras  (1880). 

It  was  only  in  the  middle  of  the  present  century  that 
the  twelve  monastic  cells  were  destroyed  which  were  de- 
voted to  monks  employed  in  literary  labor.  There  it  was 
that  Jordan  visited  the  learned  Montfaucon  in  1733,  and 
found  him  "  un  vieillard  octogénaire,  plein  de  politesse  et 
d'honnêteté,  d'une  humeur  douce  et  gaie,"  occupied  over 
some  old  Greek  MSS.  which  had  just  arrived. 

The  abbot's  palace,  built  by  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  in 
1586,  still  exists  in  the  Rue  de  V Abbaye,  opposite  the  Rue 
de  Furstemberg.  A  mutilated  cardinal's  hat  may  still  be 
seen  on  a  shield  on  the  pavilion  at  the  angle. 

"The  architecture  of  brick  and  stone,  decorated  with  but- 
tresses, pilasters,  and  pediments,  has  the  merit  of  pleasing  the 
eye  by  the  harmony  of  its  colors  and  the  picturesqueness  of  its 
disposition.  At  the  top  of  a  pavilion,  a  seated  female  figure  holds 
an  escutcheon,  with  the  arms  of  the  founder.  The  edifice  is  mostly 
inhabited  by  working  people.  In  front  of  the  Abbot's  Palace, 
some  very   plain   buildings,   still    partly   preserved,    served   for 


422 


WALJCS  lAr  PARIS 


stables,  granaries,   rooms  for  the  servants  of  the  establishment, 
the  office  of  the  steward,  &c." — F.  de  Guilhermy. 

"  Louis  XIII.  gave  to  the  widow  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Germain  des  Prés,  and  she  was  named  abbess  of  a 
convent  of  monks.  I  stop  here  with  my  examples  of  the  ancient 
abuses." — Dulaure. 

The  Boulevard  St.  Germain  has  swallowed  up  the  site 
of  the  Prison  de  l'Abbaye,  rebuilt  in  the  XVIL  c.  at  the 
southeast  angle  of  the  enclosure.  Here  Mme  Roland 
wrote  her  memoirs,  and  Charlotte  Corday  spent  her  last 
days.  The  prison  is  also  connected  with  some  of  the  most 
agonizing  scenes  of  the  Revolution,  especially  during  the 
massacres  of  September.  It  existed,  as  a  military  prison, 
till  1854. 

"On  Sunday,  September  2,  our  turnkey  served  our  dinner 
earlier  than  usual.  His  wild  looks,  his  haggard  eyes,  made  us 
anticipate  something  disastrous.  At  two  o'clock  he  returned, 
and  we  gathered  around  him  ;  he  was  deaf  to  all  our  ques- 
tions, and  after  he  had,  contrary  to  his  ordinary  habit,  collected 
all  the  knives  which  we  had  taken  pains  to  place  in  our  napkins, 
be  abruptly  ordered  the  nurse-tender  of  the  Swiss  officer  Reding 
to  leave. 

"  If  this  turnkey  had  not  been  informed  of  what  was  to  take 
place,  why  these  precautions?  A  municipal  officer  had  pre- 
viously taken  the  names  of  the  prisoners,  and  it  was  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night  that  this  list  was  made. 

"The  prisons  being  surrounded,  four  or  five  of  these 
wretches  who  called  themselves  judges  of  the  people,  installed 
themselves  beside  the  wicket,  and  ordered  the  prisoners  to  ap- 
pear before  them. 

"  By  the  glare  of  two  torches,  I  beheld  the  terrible  tribunal 
which  was  to  give  me  life  or  death.  The  president,  in  a  gray 
dress,  sabre  by  his  side,  was  standing  leaning  against  a  table  on 
which  were  papers,  a  writing  desk,  some  pipes  and  some  bottles. 
This  table  was  surrounded  by  ten  persons,  sitting  or  standing, 
two  of  them  in  their  shirt-sleeves  with  aprons  ;  others  were  sleep- 
ing on  the  benches  ;  two  men  in  blood-stained  shirts,  with  sabres 
in  their  hands,  guarded  the  door,  and  an  old  turnkey  had  his 


PKI  SOX  DE   LABBA  YE  423 

hand  on  the  bolts.     In  front  of  the  president,  three  men  were 
holding  a  prisoner  who  seemed  about  sixty  years  old. 

"  I  was  placed  at  the  corner  of  the  wicket  ;  the  guards  crossed 
sabres  before  my  breast,  and  warned  me  that,  at  the  slightest 
movement  to  escape,  I  should  be  stabbed. 

"These  men,  drinking,  smoking,  or  sleeping  in  the  midst  of 
the  cries  of  their  fellow-men,  pitilessly  slaughtered,  and  of  the 
fury  of  those  whose  thirst  for  blood  was  increased  in  proportion 
as  it  was  shed,  presented  a  picture  as  yet  unknown  in  the  history 
of  the  human  heart.  I  do  not  believe  that,  before  our  Revolution, 
any  man  had  seen  such  a  spectacle. 

"The  judges  had  a  list  of  all  the  prisoners,  with  their  de- 
scriptions, containing,  by  the  side  of  their  names,  the  reasons  of 
their  imprisonment  ;  the  members  of  the  Committee  of  the  Com- 
mune, the  municipals  and  other  persons  initiated  into  these  fright- 
ful mysteries,  had  added  notes,  more  or  less  fatal,  that  indicated 
to  the  executioner-judges  the  course  they  ought  to  follow.  After 
a  brief  examination,  often  dispensed  with,  especially  in  the  case 
of  some  unfortunate  priests  who  had  not  taken  the  oath,  the  two 
assassins  to  whom  the  custody  of  the  prisoners  had  been  con- 
fided pushed  them  into  the  street,  crying,  'A  la  Force  !'  if  the 
Abbaye  was  the  scene  of  trial,  and  'A  V Abbaye  r  if  they  were  to 
be  massacred  at  the  prison  of  La  Force,  and  they  fell  into  the 
midst  of  sabres,  pikes  and  clubs,  which  crushed  and  mutilated 
them  all  at  once,  in  the  most  horrible  manner. 

"At  ten  in  the  evening,  the  Abbé  l'Enfant,  the  king's  con- 
fessor, and  the  Abbé  Chapt  de  Rastignac,  appeared  in  the  trib- 
une of  the  chapel  which  served  as  our  prison,  to  which  they 
entered  by  a  door  opening  on  the  stairs.  They  announced  to  us 
that  our  last  hour  approached  and  invited  us  to  prepare  ourselves 
to  receive  their  benediction.  An  indefinable  electric  movement 
sent  us  all  to  our  knees,  and  with  hands  folded,  we  received 
it.  .  .  .  On  the  eve  of  appearing  before  the  Supreme  Being, 
kneeling  before  two  of  his  ministers,  we  presented  a  spectacle 
beyond  ^description.  The  age  of  the  two  old  men,  their  positiori 
above  us,  death  floating  over  our  heads  and  encircling  us  on  all 
sides,  all  gave  this  ceremony  a  mournful  but  august  color  ;  it 
brought  us  near  to  God,  it  gave  us  courage  ;  all  reasoning  facul- 
ties were  suspended  ;  the  coldest  and  most  incredulous  received 
as  ffreat  an  impression  as  the  most  ardent  and  most  susceptible. 
Half  an  hour  afterwards,  the  two  priests  were  murdered  ;  we 
heard  their  cries.  .  .  . 


424  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

"  Our  most  important  occupation  was  studying  what  position 
we  ought  to  take  to  receive  death  with  least  pain  when  we  were 
conducted  to  the  scene  of  the  massacres.  We  sent,  from  time  to 
time,  some  of  our  comrades  to  the  window  of  the  turret  to  tell 
us  what  was  the  attitude  assumed  by  the  unfortunate  victims,  and 
to  deduce,  from  their  report,  the  one  we  ought  to  take.  They  re- 
ported that  those  who  stretched  out  their  hands  suffered  much 
longer,  because  the  sword  strokes  were  deadened  before  reaching 
the  head  ;  that  in  some  cases,  the  hands  and  arms  fell  before  the 
body  did,  and  that  those  who  put  their  hands  behind  their  backs, 
suffered  much  less.  Such  were  the  horrible  details  that  we  dis- 
cussed."— Saint-Méard,  ''Relation  des  massacres  de  Sepfefnbre." 

"  The  massacres  lasted  at  the  Abbaye  from  Sunday  evening 
to  Tuesday  morning  ;  at  La  Force,  longer  ;  at  Bicetre,  four  days, 
&c.  I  owe  to  my  detention  in  the  first  of  these  prisons  details 
which  make  one  shudder,  and  which  I  have  not  the  courage  to 
trace.  One  fact,  however,  I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence,  because 
it  tends  to  prove  that  it  was  a  carefully  prepared  scheme.  There 
was  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain  a  house  of  detention  in  which 
prisoners  were  kept  when  the  Abbaye  was  too  crowded  to  receive 
them,  and  the  police  chose,  for  the  transfer,  the  Sunday  evening 
just  before  the  general  massacre  ;  the  murderers  were  ready,  and 
rushed  on  the  carriages,  five  or  six  fiacres,  and  stabbed  and  slew, 
with  swords  and  pikes,  in  the  midst  of  the  street,  those  who  were 
in  them,  to  the  terrible  sound  of  their  death  cries.  All  Paris 
was  witness  of  these  horrible  scenes  perpetrated  by  a  small  num- 
ber of  executioners  ;  there  were  only  fifteen  at  the  Abbaye,  at  the 
door  of  which,  in  despite  of  all  the  requisitions  made  to  the 
commune  and  the  commandant,  only  two  nationals  formed  the 
whole  defence.  All  Paris  let  these  things  be  done.  All  Paris 
was  accursed  in  my  eyes,  and  I  shall  not  hope  to  see  liberty  estab- 
lished among  cowards,  insensible  to  the  last  outrages  that  could 
be  committed  against  nature  and  humanity,  cold  spectators  of 
murders  which  the  courage  of  fifty  armed  men  could  have  easily 
prevented." — Bertrand  de  Moleville,  ''  Anfiales." 

A  little  south,  by  the  J^ue  du  Four,  we  find  the  Carre- 
four  de  la  Croix  Rouge,  a  spot  where  six  streets  now  meet, 
but  which,  in  the  XVI.  c,  was  considered  the  extreme 
limit  of  the  town  towards  the  country.  The  Rue  du 
Cherche- Midi  commemorates  in  its  name  a  sundial  with  a 


ABBA  YE   A  UX  BOIS  425 

representation  of  two  persons  looking  for  noon  at  two 
o'clock  :  at  No.  19  (left)  a  quaint  relief  represents  this. 
No.  37  (left)  is  the  old  Hotel' de  Toulouse,  with  a  noble 
gateway.  The  Rue  du  Dragon  was  formerly  the  Rue  St. 
Sépulcre. 

Returning  to  the  Carrefour  de  la  Croix  Rouge,  we  find 
near  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  de  Sèvres,  on  the  right,  the 
Abbaye  aux  Bois,  belonging  to  a  convent  of  nuns  of  Notre 
Dame  des  Bois.  The  church  has  a  Madonna  and  Dead 
Christ  by  Lebrun.  In  this  convent  the  great  ladies  of  the 
faubourg  were  in  the  habit  of  going  into  retreat  in  the  last 
century,  but  rather  to  enjoy  the  interests  of  a  kind  of  lit- 
erary club  than  for  religious  exercises.  Then,  also,  the 
Abbaye  aux  Bois  was  the  most  fashionable  place  of  female 
education  in  Paris.  The  Journal  of  He'lene  Massalska, 
Princesse  de  Ligne,  shows  how  the  noble  -young  ladies 
were  then  taught  to  be  efficient  mistresses  of  a  household 
by  themselves  learning  cooking,  washing,  housemaid's 
work,  &c.,  in  the  convents.  In  later  days,  owing  to  want 
of  ready  money,  the  convent  has  sold  several  of  its  exte- 
rior apartments.  Mme  Récamier  inhabited  three  different 
apartments  there  at  three  different  times  ;  Mrs.  Clark  and 
her  daughter,  afterwards  the  well-known  Mme  Mohl,  went 
to  live  there  in  183 1  ;  and  here  Chateaubriand  read  aloud 
his  Mémoires  d' Ouh-e-Tombe,  before  their  publication,  de- 
siring, in  his  lifetime,  *•' escompter  les  louanges"  which  he 
expected,  but  hardly  received. 

Turning  (right)  down  the  Rue  du  Bac,  on  the  left  (No. 
138)  is  the  Hospice  des  Ménages,  formerly  des  Petites  Mai- 
sons, instituted  in  1407,  and  renewed  in  the  XVII.  c.  It 
is  used  for  old  people.  The  chapel,  open  from  2  to  3, 
and  picturesque  with  its  many  kneeling  sisters,  contains 
many  inscriptions,  the  oldest  of   1587.     The  Rue  du  Bac 


426  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

takes  its  name  from  a  ferry-boat  (Bac),  formerly  estab- 
lished at  its  extremity,  for  crossing  the  Seine. 

At  No.  1 20  was  the  well-known  salon  of  Mm^  Mohl, 
who  died  here  in  February,  1882.  Chateaubriand  lived 
on  the  ground  floor,  and  his  last  days  were  spent  here. 

"  M.  de  Chateaubriand,  like  an  old  oak  struck  by  lightning, 
beautiful  in  its  decay,  sat,  seemed  to  listen,  and  smiled  when  one 
of  his  old  favorites  entered.  Mme  Récamier  went  to  him  every 
day  at  the  hour  he  used  to  come  here.  Though  blind  and  nervous, 
she  never  missed  a  day  in  coming  to  the  Rue  du  Bac.  Since  her 
blindness  she  had  been  unable  to  walk  in  the  street,  and  as  the 
coaches  were  in  danger  [1848]  of  being  taken  and  piled  up  for 
barricades,  the  drivers  were  unwilling  to  go  out. 

"  Before  the  terrible  days  of  June,  M.  de  Chateaubriand  had 
taken  to  his  bed,  to  rise  no  more.  Mme  Récamier  would  leave 
the  room  to  conceal  her  tears.  His  eyes  followed  her,  but  he 
scarcely  ever  spoke  ;  not  once  after  extreme  unction  had  been  ad- 
ministered. She  could  not  see  him,  and  his  silence  seemed  cruel. 
She  dreaded  his  dying  in  the  night,  when  it  might  be  impossible 
to  send  for  her  in  time,  and  it  was  a  comfort  to  her  that  he  had  a 
friend  living  upstairs  [Mme  Mohl]  who  could  give  her  a  room, 
where  she  spent  three  nights.  On  the  morning  of  July  3,  at  about 
seven,  she  was  called  down  ;  in  about  an  hour  all  was  over. 

"  The  current  of  her  life  was  dried  up.  She  wished  for  noth- 
ing in  the  world  but  to  be  good  enough  to  die." — Mme  Mohl, 
"  Mme  Re'camier^ 

No.  128  Rue  du  Bac,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  de  Baby- 
lone,  is  the  Missiofis  Etrangères,  with  the  Church  of  St. 
François  Xavier,  containing  (left  of  entrance)  a  monument 
to  "  thirteen  venerable  servants  of  God,"  including  Bishops 
Dufresse  and  Dumoulin  Borie'  and  nine  Chinese  mission- 
aries, beheaded  and  strangled  in  Cochin  China,  18 15-1840  ; 
also  the  monument  of  Jean  Théophane  Venard,  beheaded 
at  Tong-King,  February  2,  1861.  A  little  garden,  on  the 
right  of  the  church,  leads  to  La  Chambre  des  Martyrs, 
surrounded  by  terrible  memorials  of  the  tortures  suffered 
by  the  martyred  missionaries,  the  blood-stained  clothes  in 


RUE   DE    VA  RENNE  S  427 

which  they  died,  and  curious  Chinese  pictures  of  their 
executions. 

No.  140  (left)  Rue  du  Bac,  is  the  Hotel  du  Chatillon, 
built  by  Mansart,  and  has  two  very  rich  portals.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street  is  the  huge  shop  of  the  Bon 
Marché^  a  very  characteristic  sight  of  modern  Paris. 

We  are  now  in  the  centre  of  the  last-century  hotels  of 
the  aristocratic  faubourg.  "  Faire  monter  un  hotel  "  was 
the  ambition  of  every  Frenchman  of  good  family  before 
the  great  Revolution.  Then,  when  the  aristocracy  were 
forbidden  to  have  armorial  bearings  of  any  kind,  they 
plastered  over  those  above  their  doors,  and  put  a  veil  of 
paint  upon  those  of  their  carriages,  as  if  to  indicate  that 
the  existing  season  was  only  one  of  passing  cloud.  In- 
deed, one  nobleman,  who  feared  that  his  conduct  might 
be  misunderstood,  inscribed  as  his  device  instead,  "Ce 
nuage  n'est  qu'un  passage."  But  almost  all  the  aristo- 
cratie characteristics  of  the  Faubourg  are  now  a  tale  of  the 
past. 

"  Le  faubourg  Saint  Germain  n'est  plus  à  cette  heure  qu'un 
nom,  le  nom  d'une  ruine,  le  nom  d'une  chose  morte.  Il  n'a  plus 
ni  caractère  ni  accent  qui  lui  soient  propres.  Il  ne  garde  plus 
d'autres  supériorités  que  celle  qu'il  partage  avec  la  bourgeoisie." 
— Daniel  Stern. 

There  is  very  little  variety  in  the  characteristics  of  the 
hotels  :  they  have  almost  all  the  same  curtain  wall  in  front, 
with  either  a  double  or  s\ug\e  p07'te  cochere,  and  are  adorned 
with  caryatides,  pilasters,  and  garlands,  of  much  the  same 
description.  They  will  be  of  little  interest  to  passing 
travellers.  We  will  note  the  best,  only  retracing  our  steps 
where  it  cannot  be  avoided. 

The  Rue  du  Bac  now  crosses  the  Rue  de  Varennes,  a 
long  street,  in  which  we  may  notice  No.  53  as  the  Hôtel 


428  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Motiaco  or  Hbtel  de  Matignon,  built  by  Brongniart  for  Ma- 
dame Adélaïde,  sister  of  Louis  Philippe,  and  belonging 
now  to  the  Due  de  Galliera;  General  Cavaignac  resided 
here  when  head  of  the  executive  power  in  1848.  No.  69 
is  the  Hôtel  d'Orsay.  No.  77  is  the  XVIII.  c.  Hôtel  de 
Biron,  built  for  Peirene  de  Moras,  a  barber  enriched  by 
legal  speculations.  No.  78  was  erected  by  the  Régent 
d'Orléans  for  the  actress  Desmares,  and  was  afterwards 
used  as  the  Ministère  de  Commerce.  Into  the  Rue  de 
Varennes  on  the  left  falls  the  Rue  Va?ineau,  where  No.  14 
(right)  is  a  restored  house  of  the  time  of  François  I.,  and 
No.  24  is  the  Hôtel  de  Ca?ialeilles. 

Continuing  the  Rue  du  Bac,  it  is  crossed  by  the  Rue  de 
Grenelle,  where,  a  few  steps  to  the  right,  is  the  handsome 
Fontaine  de  Grefielle,  constructed  (1739-43)  for  Louis  XV. 
Its  reliefs  and  figures  are  by  Bouchardon. 

We  must  see  more  of  the  Rue  de  Grenelle,  but,  for  an 
instant,  continue  the  Rue  du  Bac  to  the  Boulevard  St.  Ger- 
main, where,  immediately  on  the  south,  is  the  Hostel  de 
Luynes,  which  was  built  by  Pierre  Lemuet  for  Marie 
Rohan -Montbazon,  Duchesse  de  Chevreuse.  Its  gates  are 
very  handsome  specimens  of  iron  work. 

"This  beautiful  house  still  belongs  to  the  family  of  de 
Luynes,  and,  more  than  any  other,  it  recalls  the  old  hotels  where 
the  great  lords  of  other  days,  the  born  protectors  of  art,  loved  to 
assemble  books,  pictures,  and  curiosities  of  every  kind." — De 
Giiilhermy. 

Opposite  the  Hôtel  de  Luynes  is  the  approach  to  the 
Church  of  St.  Thomas  Aqiwias,  which  answers,  as  a  temple 
of  Hymen  in  Paris,  to  what  St.  George's,  Hanover  Square, 
was  till  recently  in  London.  It  belonged  to  the  convent 
of  "Jacobins  du  Faubourg  St.  Germain,"  founded  by  Car- 
dinal  Richelieu,  and  was  built  (1682-17  70)  from  designs 


RUE  DE    GRENELLE  429 

of  Pierre  Bullet.  Of  later  construction,  by  Frère  Claude, 
a  monk  of  the  convent,  in  1787,  is  the  portal,  before  which 
republican  France  generally  affords  a  few  spectators  "  pour 
voir  monter  et  descendre  des  duchesses."  The  ceiling  of 
the  sanctuary  representing  the  Transfiguration,  is  a  great 
work  of  Lemoifie. 

"La  plus  grande  partie  des  demoiselles  bien  élevées  se  sou- 
mettent à  l'hymen  sans  que  l'amour  s'en  mêle,  et  elles  n'en  sont 
pas  fâchées.  Elles  sentent  que  c'est  par  le  mariage  qu'elles  sont 
quelque  chose  dans  le  monde  ;  et  c'est  pour  être  établies,  pour 
avoir  un  état  qu'elles  se  marient.  Elles  semblent  sentir  qu'un 
mari  n'a  pas  besoin  d'être  amant.  A  Paris  ce  même  esprit  règne 
parmi  les  hommes,  et  voilà  pourquoi  la  plupart  des  mariages 
sont  des  liens  de  convenance.  Les  Français  sont  jaloux  de 
leurs  maîtresses,  et  jamais  de  leurs  femmes." — Casanova,  ''Mé- 
moires." 

The  Boulevard  St.  Germain  has  swallowed  up  a  great 
part  of  the  Rue  St.  Dominique,  but  some  of  the  street  still 
remains.  Its  most  noticeable  houses  are  No.  62,  motel  de 
la  Duchesse  douairière  d'Orléans,  once  inhabited  by  Cam- 
bacérès  ;  No.  113,  the  Hotel  de  Granimont,  and  No.  115, 
the  Hotel  de  Périgord,  of  Prince  Demidofï. 

The  Rue  du  Bac  next  crosses  the  Rue  de  /'  Université^ 
where,  a  little  to  the  right,  No.  15,  is  a  good  XVII.  c. 
hotel,  and  No.  13,  the  Hotel  d'Aligré,  now  a  museum  of 
marine  charts. 

Returning,  as  we  came,  to  the  Rtie  de  Grenelle,  we 
should  now  follow  it  (turning  right)  to  the  end.  No.  106 
(right)  was  the  old  convent  of  Notre  Dame  de  Pentémont 
or  du  Verbe  Incarné,  founded  1643  ;  its  admirable  domed 
chapel  remains.  Mme  de  Beauharnais,  afterwards  the  Em- 
press Josephine,  lived  for  several  years  in  this  convent, 
after  the  birth  of  her  daughter  Hortense.  No.  loi  (left), 
the  ancient  Hotel  Conti,  is  now  the  Ministère  des  Postes. 


43 o  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

No.  ii6  (right),  the  Hôtel  Forbi?i,  j^anson,  or  de  Brissac, 
has  a  fine  entrance  ;  it  is  now  the  Mairie  du  VII"^®  Arron- 
dissement. 

The  Rue  Casimir  Périer  leads  (right)  to  the  Church 
of  St.  Clotilde,  a  large  cruciform  gothic  building  erected 
in  1846-1857,  from  plans  of  Gau.  The  design  of  build- 
ing this  church  (in  the  place  of  a  little  church  dedicated  to 
St.  Valere)  originated  with  Queen  Marie  Amélie.  The 
interior  is  exceedingly  handsome.  In  the  apse  are  a  num- 
ber of  reliefs  representing  the  story  of  St.  Clotilde.  The 
Place  de  Belle-chasse,  in  which  the  church  stands,  occupies 
part  of  the  Pré  aux  Clercs,  the  jurisdictions  of  which  was 
long  disputed  by  the  University  and  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Germain. 

The  last  cross  street  of  the  Rue  de  Grenelle,  is  the  Rue 
de  Bourgogne,  in  which,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  St.  Domi- 
nique, is  the  Hotel  Béranger,  where  Adrienne  Lecouvreur 
was  buried  by  some  faithful  friends,  the  offices  of  the 
Church  having  been  refused  to  her. 

At  the  end  of  the  Rue  de  Grenelle,  on  the  right,  is 
(No.  142)  the  XVIII.  c.  Hôtel  de  Bezenval ;  and  on  the 
left  (No.  127)  the  Hôtel  du  Châtelet,  of  the  time  of  Louis 
XV.,  now  the  Palais  Archiépiscopal. 

We  emerge  from  the  Rue  de  Grenelle  opposite  the 
gardens  to  the  north  of  the  magnificent  Hotel  des  Invalides 
(open  daily  from  11  to  4),  planned  by  Henri  IV.,  and 
begun  by  Louis  XIV.  in  167 1,  as  a  refuge  for  old  soldiers, 
who,  before  it  was  built,  had  to  beg  their  bread  on  the 
streets. 

"  The  Hôtel  des  Invalides,  the  work  of  the  architect  Libéral 
Bruant,  answers,  both  in  its  character  and  its  military  ornamen- 
tation, to  its  noble  purpose.  It  was  finished  in  1674.  The 
church,  commenced  by  Bruant  and  completed  b)^  Mansart,  was 
not   finished  till   thirty  years  later.     To   the  latter  we  owe  the 


HOTEL   DES  INVALIDES 


431 


dome,  covered  with  azure  and  gold,  and  crowned  by  a  bold  spire, 
one  of  the  most  striking  ornaments  of  Paris.  The  details  and 
ornaments  of  the  dome  show  the  decay  of  taste  which  became 
less  and  less  pure  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  ;  but  the 
general  view  is  striking,  and  no  building  in  Paris,  except  Notre 
Dame,  produces  at  a  distance  such  an  imposing  effect." — Martin, 
"  Hist,  de  France  y 

"We  feel  that  a  nation  that  built  such  palaces  for  the  old  age 
of  its  armies,  has  received  the  power  of  the  sword  as  well  as  the 
sceptre  of  art." — Chateaubriand. 

"The  Hôtel  des  Invalides  is  the  most  noble  spot  on  the 
earth.  I  would,  if  I  were  a  prince,  have  rather  built  this  estab- 
lishment than  have  gained  three  battles." — Motitesqtdeti. 

The  institution  is  under  the  management  of  the  Min- 
ister of  War^  and  nothing  can  be  more  comfortable  than 
the  life  of  its  inmates.  The  number  of  these  is  now  small  ; 
in  the  time  of  Napoleon  I.^  when  the  institution  was  called 
the  "Temple  of  Mars/'  it  was  enormous. 

On  the  terrace  in  front  of  the  building  are  a  number  of 
cannon,  trophies  taken  in  different  campaigns.  Standing 
before  the  hotel  is  the  statue  of  Prince  Eugène.  On  either 
side  of  the  entrance  are  statues  of  Mars  and  Minerva  by 
Coustou  jeune.  In  the  tympanum  of  the  semicircle  over 
the  centre  of  the  façade  is  Louis  XIV.  on  horseback,  with 
the  inscription  :  "  Ludovicus  magnus,  militibus  regali  mu- 
nificentia  in  perpetuum  providens,  has  aedes  posuit,  an 
16 15.*'  Behind  the  façade  is  a  vast  courtyard  surrounded 
by  open  corridors  lined  with  frescoes  of  the  history  of 
France  :  those  of  the  early  history  on  theleft  by  Benedict 
Masson^  1865,  have  much  interest.  In  the  centre  of  the 
façade  opposite  the  entrance  is  the  statue  of  Napoleon  I. 
Beneath  this  is  the  approach  to  the  Church  of  St.  Louis, 
built  1671-79,  from  designs  of  Libéral  Bruant,  and  in 
which  many  banners  of  victory  give  an  effect  of  color  to  an 
otherwise  colorless  building. 


432 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


"Here  are  the  colors  captured  from  the  armies  of  all  Europe 
during  the  Revolution  and  the  Empire.  In  1814  the  allies  hurried 
to  this  temple  of  glory  to  retake  the  prizes  of  their  long  and 
numerous  defeats  :  but  the  old  warriors  whom  Napoleon  had 
made  their  guardians  knew  how  to  withdraw  them  from  their 
search.  '  If  we  cannot  preserve  these  banners,'  said  the  Invalides, 
'we  will  burn  them  and  swallow  the  ashes.'  " — Touc  hard- La  fosse, 
^^  Hist,  de  Parish 

Against  the  walls  are  monuments  to  marshals  or 
governors  of  the  Invalides — the  Due  de  Coigny,  Due  de 


TOMBEAU  NAPOLÉON. 


Conegliano  (Moncey),  Duc  de  Reggio  (Oudinot),  Marshal 
Jourdan,  Duc  de  Malakoff  (Pe'lissier),  &c. 

The  Tombeau  Napoléon^  under  the  magnificent  dome  of 
the  Invalides,  which  was  added  to  the  original  church  by 
Jules  Hardouin  Mansart,  and  is  treated  as  a  separate  build- 
ing, is  entered  from  the  Place  Vauban  at  the  back,  or  by 
the  left  cloister  and  a  court  beyond.  It  is  only  open  to 
the  public  on  Monday,  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday, 
from   12  to  3,  but  should  on  no  account  be  left  unseen. 


HÔTEL   DES  INVALIDES  433 

On  the  façade  are  statues  of  Charlemagne  by  Coysevox, 
and  St.  Louis  by  Nicolas  Coustou. 

On  entering  the  vast  interior,  a  huge  circular  space 
is  seen  to  open,  beneath  the  cupola  painted  by  Charles 
de  Lafosse  2i\-\d  Jotcve?iet,  and,  in  it,  surrounded  by  caryatides 
and  groups  of  mouldering  banners,  the  huge  tomb  of 
Finland  granite,  given  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  Hither 
the  remains  of  the  great  Emperor  were  brought  back  from 
St.  Helena  by  the  Prince  de  Joinville,  in  1841,  though 
Louis  Philippe,  whilst  adopting  this  popular  measure  as 
regarded  the  dead,  renewed  the  sentence  of  exile  against 
the  living  members  of  the  Bonaparte  family. 

"The  name  Napoleon  glitters  on  the  cover  in  pretty  large 
letters.  '  In  what  metal  are  these  letters  ?  '  I  asked.  He  replied, 
'In  copper,  but  they  will  be  gilded.'  'These  letters,'  I  replied,' 
'  ought  to  be  in  gold.  Before  a  hundred  years  have  elapsed  the 
copper  letters  will  be  oxydized  and  have  eaten  into  the  wood  of  the 
coffin.  How  much  would  letters  in  gold  cost  the  State  ?  '  '  About 
twenty  thousand  francs,  sir.'  That  same  evening  I  went  to  M. 
Thiers,  then  president  of  the  council,  and  told  him  the  matter. 
'  You  are  right,'  said  M.  Thiers  ;  '  the  letters  shall  be  in  gold.  I 
will  give  the  order  at  once.'  Three  days  afterwards  came  the 
treaty  of  July  15.  I  do  not  know  whether  M.  Thiers  gave  the 
orders,  or  whether  they  were  executed,  or  whether  the  letters  at 
present  on  the  coffin  are  letters  in  gold"— Victor  Hugo,  "  Choses 
vues.'' 

Four  smaller  cupolas  encircle  the  great  dome.  In  the 
first,  on  the  right,  is  the  tomb  of  Joseph  Bonaparte.  On  the 
left  are  the  tombs  of  Jerom'e  Bonaparte,  with  a  statue,  and 
of  his  eldest  son  and  the  Princess  Catherine  of  Wurtemberg. 
The  other  two  cupolas  are  still  empty  :  when  ever-changing 
France  again  changes  her  idols,  and  the  dynasty  of  the 
Bonapartes  is  once  more  in  the  ascendant,  they  will  prob- 
ably be  occupied,  amid  universal  acclamation,  by  the 
tombs  of  Napoleon  III.  and  his  ill-fated  and  heroic  son. 


434 


IVALKS  IN  PARIS 


The  transept  contains  the  tomb  of  Turenne  (formerly 
buried  at  St.  Denis),  by  Tubi  from  designs  of  Lebrun.  It 
represents  the  hero  expiring  (at  the  battle  of  Salzbach,  July 
27,  1675)  in  the  arms  of  Immortality.  Upon  the  violation 
of  the  tombs  at  St.  Denis,  the  body  of  Turenne  had  been 
found  in  a  state  of  complete  preservation,  and,  whilst  the 
royal  remains  were  scattered  to  the  winds,  his  were  re- 
moved to  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  afterwards  to  the 
Museum  of  the  Petits  Augustins.  Napoleon,  as  first 
Consul,  translated  them  with  great  honor  to  the  Invalides, 
September  22,  1800.  In  the  left  transept  is  the  tomb  to 
which  the  remains  of  the  illustrious  Vauban  were  after- 
wards transferred.  The  minister  Louvois,  under  whose 
auspices  the  hotel  was  built,  was  buried  here  by  order  of 
Louis  XIV.  in  1692,  but  afterwards  removed  to  the 
Capucines  of  the  Rue  St.   Honoré. 

Descending  the  steps  behind  the  splendid  baldacchino, 
we  find  black-marble  tombs  of  Marshals  Duroc  and  Ber- 
trand guarding  the  approach  to  that  of  Napoleon  I.  His 
own  words,  taken  from  his  will,  appear  in  large  letters 
over  the  entrance. 

"Je  désire  que  mes  cendres  reposent  sur  les  bords  de  la 
Seine,  au  milieu  de  ce  peuple  Français  que  j'ai  tant  aimé." 

The  sentiment,  the  tomb,  and  the  dome  have  a  unique 
splendor.  A  white-marble  statue  of  Napoleon  I.  by 
Stuart  is  in  a  black-marble  chapel.  His  Austerlitz  sword, 
the  crown  voted  by  Cherbourg,  and  colors  taken  in  his 
different  battles,  were  formerly  shown  in  a  chapelle  ardente, 

"Take  away  the  dome  and  the  Invalides  is  nothing  more 
than  a  barrack,  a  cloister,  or  a  hospital.  The  dome  makes  it  a 
palace,  a  temple — ay,  more  than  a  temple.  If,  at  present,  there 
are  persons  who  do  not  comprehend  what  purpose  the  dome  of 
the  Invalides  serves,  for  the  money  it  cost,  let  them  go  and  ask 


MUSÉE   D'ARTILLERIE  43^ 

the  old  martyrs  of  the  battle-fields,  whose  resplendent  aureole  it 
is,  and  they  will  proudly  answer,  '  It  serves  for  beauty.'  " — Emile 
Deschamps. 

The  Musée  d^ Artillerie,  entered  from  the  cloister  on 
the  right  of  the  principal  court,  is  only  shown  on  Tues- 
days, Thursdays,  and  Sundays,  from  12  to  4  in  winter,  and 
12  to  5  in  summer. 

The  collection  of  arms  begins  with  the  rude  flint 
weapons  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  and  the  caverns 
of  Aurignac  and  Moustier.  Then  comes  the  age  of 
polished-flint  weapons,  found  in  the  lake  cities  of  Switzer- 
land, &c.  The  age  of  bronze  succeeds,  of  which  one  of 
the  finest  specimens  is  a  bronze  sword  found  at  Uzes. 
The  arms  introduced  by  the  Romans  follow,  and  the 
gradual  changes  which  led  to  the  steel  armor  of  the 
XIV.  c.  The  collection  of  bows  and  cross-bows  is  full  of 
interest,  as  well  as  that  of  firearms  from  their  earliest 
infancy. 

The  collection  of  plans  of  fortresses,  in  relief,  executed 
under  Louis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV.,  is  interesting  to  the 
archaeologist  as  showing  (as  at  Arras,  St.  Omer,  Besançon) 
many  buildings  of  the  middle  ages  which  have  ceased  to 
exist.  Amongst  the  historic  arms  preserved  here  are  the 
helmet  of  Henri  IV.,  the  sword  of  Duguesclin,  and  the 
cuirass  of  Bayard. 

The  great  barracks  behind  the  Invalides  formerly  con- 
tained the  military  school  now  at  St.  Cyr.  They  face  the 
end  of  the  Champ  de  Mars,  an  immense  open  oblong  space 
used  for  reviews,  and  temporarily  occupied  by  the  great 
Exhibitions  of  1867  and  1878.  It  was  formed  in  1790  for 
the  famous  Fête  de  la  Federation  (July  14),  when  the  Autel 
de  la  Patrie  was  erected  in  the  centre,  and  Louis  XVI. 
took  an  oath  there  to  observe  the  new  constitution. 


436  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Here  also  Napoleon  I.  held  the  famous  Champs  de 
Mai  before  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 

"  Le  Champ  de  Mai  avait  eu  cela  de  remarquable  qu'il  avait 
été  tenu  au  mois  de  juin  et  au  Champ  de  Mars." — Victor  Hugo, 

At  the  entrance  of  the  Quai  d'Orsay  (No.  103)  is  the 
temporary  Garde-Meuble  (open  on  Sundays  and  Thursdays 
from  10  to  4),  containing  a  vast  collection  of  tapestries, 
curious  furniture,  and  jewels  which  belonged  to  the  Crown. 
Many  of  the  latter  were  put  up  to  public  auction  in  1887. 
Amongst  the  jewels  reserved  is  the  diamond  known  as 
^^  Le  Régent/'  purchased  by  Régent  Philippe  d'Orléans, 
and  valued  at  12,000,000  fr. 

Returning  by  the  Quai  d'Orsay,  on  the  site  formerly 
called  La  Grenouilliere,  we  find,  opposite  the  Pont  des 
Invalides,  the  Manufacture  des  Tabacs,  shown  on  Thurs- 
days only  from  10  to  12  and  i  to  4.  It  employs  200  work- 
people, and  manufactures  6,200  tons  of  tobacco  annually. 

Near  the  Pont  de  Solferino  is  the  Palais  de  la  Légion 
d''Hon7teur,,  built  (1786)  by  Prince  Salm-Kyrburg,  and  in- 
teresting as  the  scene  of  Mme  de  Staël's  receptions  dur- 
ing the  Directory. 

Opposite  the  Pont  de  la  Concorde  is  the  Palais  du 
Corps  Législatif,,  or  Chambre  des  Députés  (open  from  9  to 
5).  This  palace,  originally  Palais  Bourbon,  was  built  by 
the  Prince  de  Condé  (1789),  the  first  Hôtel  de  Condé,  on 
the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Odéon,  and  the  second  hotel, 
near  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  having  been  destroyed. 
Confiscated  in  1790,  it  became  known  as  ^^  Maison  de  la 
Révolution."  From  1805  to  1870  it  was  used  as  a  parlia- 
ment-house, the  State  having  bought  the  property  from  the 
Prince  de  Condé  at  the  Restoration.  It  is  here  that  Ben- 
jamin Constant,  Casimir  Périer,  Guizot,  Thiers,  Berryer, 
Lamartine,  Montalembert,  and  Jules  Favre,  have  in  turn 


PALAIS  DU  CORPS  LÉGISLATIF  437 

displayed  their  eloquence,  and  it  was  also  in  the  Salle  du 
Corps  Législatif  th<\t,  in  1848,  the  Duchesse  d'Orle'ans  pre- 
sented herself  with  her  two  little  boys  to  claim  the  re- 
gency, and  was  met  by  the  words  ^^  Too  late." 

"  The  large  door  opposite  the  tribune  on  a  level  with  the 
highest  seats  of  the  hall,  is  opened.  A  woman,  the  Duchess 
of  Orleans,  appears.  She  is  in  mourning  ;  her  veil,  half  turned 
back  on  her  bonnet,  displays  her  countenance,  marked  with  an 
emotion  and  a  sadness  that  enhance  its  j^outh  and  beauty.  She 
holds  in  her  right  hand  the  young  king,  who  stumbles  on  the 
steps,  and  in  her  left  the  little  Duke  of  Chartres,  children  to 
whom  their  downfall  is  but  a  show.  The  Duke  de  Nemours 
walks  by  the  side  of  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  loyal  to  the  mem- 
ory of  his  brother  in  the  persons  of  his  nephews.  Some  gen- 
erals in  uniform,  some  officers  of  the  National  Guard,  follow  the 
steps  of  the  princess.  She  saluted  the  assembly  with  timid  grace  ; 
it  remained  motionless.  She  seated  herself  between  her  two 
children  at  the  foot  of  the  tribune,  an  innocent  defendant  before 
a  tribunal  without  appeal,  which  is  about  to  hear  the  cause  of 
royalty  pleaded.  At  that  instant  the  cause  was  won  in  the  eyes 
and  hearts  of  all." — Lamartine,  ''Révolution  de  1848." 

The  handsome  façade  towards  the  Seine  has  a  Corin- 
thian portico  by  Poyet  (1804-7).  When  the  Chamber  is 
sitting,  visitors  are  only  admitted  to  the  Salle  des  Séances, 
for  which  they  require  a  ticket  from  a  deputy  or  from  the 
Secrétaire  de  la  Questure. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

LUXURIOUS  MODERN  PARIS. 

The  Place  Vendôme  and  Place  de  la  Concorde.  The  Champs  Elyse'es 
and  Bois  de  Boulogne.  The  Fatibourg  St.  Honoré  and  the 
Madelehie. 

TURNING  west  along  the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  the  street— 
which  commemorates  the  Battle  of  Rivoli — always 
wears  a  festive  aspect.  On  the  right  are  arcades,  contain- 
ing some  of  the  shops  most  frequented  by  foreigners  ;  on 
the  left,  railings,  formed  by  gilt-headed  spears,  enclose  the 
radiant  gardens  of  the  Tuileries. 

"  The  city  swims  in  verdure,  beautiful 
As  Venice  on  the  waters,  the  sea  swan. 
What  bosky  gardens,  dropped  in  close-walled  courts, 
As  plums  in  ladies'  laps,  who  start  and  laugh  ; 
What  miles  of  streets  that  run  on  after  trees, 
Still  carrying  the  necessary  shops, 
Those  open  caskets,  with  the  jewels  seen  ! 
And  trade  is  art,  and  art's  philosophy, 
In  Paris."  Mrs.  Browning,  ^^  Aurora  Leigh." 

The  Rue  St.  Roch  was,  till  recently,  known  as  the  Rue 
du  Dauphin — a  name  of  historic  value.  The  street  was 
originally  closed  at  night  by  a  grille  on  the  side  of  the 
Tuileries,  and  it  was  known  as  Le  Cul-de-Sac  de  St.  Vin- 
cent till  1744.  Then,  Louis  XV.,  as  a  boy,  spent  some 
time  at  the  Tuileries,  and  St.  Roch  being  the  parish  church 
of  the  Court,  he  went  thither  for  his  daily  devotions.     Dur- 


PLACE   VENDOME  43g 

ing  the  first  mass  which  he  heard  there,  the  citizens,  being 
good  courtiers,  scratched  out  part  of  the  old  inscription 
and  altered  it,  and  as  the  little  prince  returned  to  the 
palace  he  read  "  Cul-de-Sac  du  Dauphin." 

The  Rue  Mojit  Thabor  crosses  the  site  of  the  most 
important  of  the  four  convents  of  Les  Capucins  at  Paris, 
founded  (1575)  by  Catherine  de  Medicis.  Alfred  de  Mus- 
set died  in  the  Rue  Mont  Thabor,  May  i,  1857. 

"Insomnia  had  always  been  his  implacable  enemy.  At  one 
in  the  morning  I  saw  him  suddenly  sit  up  with  his  right  hand  on 
his  breast,  seeking  the  place  of  the  heart,  as  if  he  had  felt  some 
extraordinary  trouble  in  that  organ.  His  face  took  a  strange 
expression  of  astonishment  and  attention.  His  eyes  opened  be- 
yond measure.  I  asked  him  if  he  was  in  pain  ;  he  made  a  sign 
that  he  was  not.  To  my  other  questions,  he  only  replied,  laying 
his  head  on  his  pillow,  '  Sleep  !  ...  at  last  I  am  going  to  sleep.' 
It  was  death." — Paul  de  Musset. 

The  Rue  de  Castiglione — commemorating  the  victory  of 
Bonaparte  over  the  Austrians  (August  5,  1796),  and  occu- 
pying the  site  of  the  old  monastery  of  the  Feuillants,  leads 
(right)  to  the  Place  Vendôme,  a  handsome  old-fashioned 
octagonal  square,  begun  under  Louis  XIV.  (the  king  him- 
self furnishing  the  leading  ideas  of  the  plan),  and  finished 
by  the  Ville  de  Paris,  from  designs  of  Jules  Hardouin 
Mansart.  The  square  was  first  called  Place  des  Con- 
quêtes, then  Place  Louis  le  Grand,  finally  Place  Vendôme, 
from  the  Hôtel  of  the  Due  de  Vendôme  (son  of  Henri  IV. 
by  Gabrielle  d'Estrees),  which  once  occupied  this  site.  A 
bronze  statue  by  Girardon  at  first  ornamented  the  centre 
of  the  square.  It  represented  Louis  XIV.  "  in  the  habit 
of  a  Roman  emperor,  and  on  his  head  a  large  French 
periwig  à  la  mode.'" '^  This  statue  was  destroyed  by  the 
people  on  August  14,  1792 — the  day  on  which  Louis  XVL 

^  Lister's  Travels  i?i  France^  1698. 


440  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

and  his  family  were  removed  from  the  Chancellerie  in  this 
square  to  the  Temple.  ^"^The  king  saw  this  destruction  as 
he  passed,  but  showed  no  emotion."^ 

"The  king's  carriage  was  for  some  time  stopped  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  Place  Vendôme  ;  they  wished  him  to  contemplate  at 
leisure  the  equestrian  statue  of  Louis  le  Grand,  hurled  from  its 
pedestal,  broken  by  the  people  and  trampled  under  foot.  "  Such 
is  the  treatment  of  tyrants,"  the  raging  populace  cried  unceas- 
ingly."— Hîie,  "  Mémoires." 

The  bronze  figures  which  ornamented  the  base  of  the 
statue  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Louvre.  During  the 
Revolution  the  name  of  the  square  was  changed  to  Place 
des  Conquêtes,  then  to  Place  des  Piques.  The  Column 
was  erected  by  Napoleon  I.,  in  imitation  of  that  of  Trajan 
at  Rome,  and  is  covered  with  bas-reliefs  representing  his 
German  campaign,  from  designs  of  Bergeret,  cast  from 
Austrian  cannon.  At  the  top  was  originally  placed  a 
statue  of  the  Emperor  by  Chaudet,  which  was  pulled  down 
after  the  allies  entered  Paris  and  melted  down  to  make 
part  of  the  second  bronze  horse  of  Henri  IV.  on  the  Pont 
Neuf.  A  second  statue  by  Seurre,  made  from  cannon 
taken  in  Algeria  (magnanimously  erected  by  Louis  Phil- 
ippe in  1833),  was  replaced  in  1863  by  a  copy  from  the 
first  statue  by  Chaudet.  On  May  16,  187 1,  the  ridiculous 
Communists  threw  down  the  whole  column,  though  it  was 
able  to  be  rebuilt  from  the  fragments  (in  1874)  as  it  is 
now  seen.  The  height  is  135  feet.  The  proprietor  of  the 
Hôtel  du  Rhin  had  offered  the  Communists  500,000  fr.  if 
they  would  spare  the  column,  and  those  robbers  had  an- 
swered, ''  Donnez  un  million  et  l'on  verra  !  " 

Up  to  1870  the  railings  around,  and  the  base  of  this 
column  in  honor  of   Napoleon,  were  always   hung  with 

^  Beaulieu,  Essais  historiques.  \ 


RUE  DE  LA   PAIX  441 

wreaths  of  immortelles  :  now  all  is  bare,  but  Parisians  are 
apt  to  change  the  historic  objects  of  their  idolatr}'  accord- 
ing to — circumstances. 

"La  gloire  de  l'empire!  ....  Eh  quoi!  quand  elle  est 
chantée  par  des  voix  comme  Victor  Hugo,  Lamartine,  Chauteau- 
briand,  Casimir  Delavigne,  toutes  nos  sommités  littéraires,  une 
voix  s'en  viendrait  murmurer  au  bas  des  aigles  triomphantes  de 
la  colonne  !  .  .  .  .  '  Ah  !  silence  !  silence  !  '  " — Mémoires  de  la 
Duchesse  iV Ahrantes, 

The  Hôtel  du  Rhin  was  the  residence  of  Napoleon 
IIL  as  Deputy  to  the  National  Assembly  in  1848. 

From  the  Place  Vendôme  the  handsome  Rue  de  la  Paix 
(formerly  Rue  Napole'on),  dating  from  1807,  leads  to  the 
Place  de  l'Opéra.  It  occupies  the  site  of  the  convent  of 
the  Capucines  (founded  under  Henri  IV.),  in  which  Louise 
de  Lorraine,  widow  of  Henry  IIL,  Mme  de  Pompadour, 
Louvois  (minister  of  war  to  Louis  XIV.),  and  the  Due  de 
Cre'qui,  were  buried.^ 

In  the  Rue  St.  Florentin,  the  Hotel  de  la  Vrilliere,  also 
called  Hôtel  de  I'lnfantado,  was  built  for  the  minister  M. 
de  St.  Florentin,  who  gave  a  name  to  the  street.  It  was 
afterwards  inhabited  by  the  Spanish  grandee  who  at  one 
time  gave  a  name  to  the  house,  then  by  M.  de  Talleyrand, 
who  received  the  Emperor  Alexander  there  in  18 14. 

"  Sans  cœur  et  sans  talent,  beaucoup  de  suffisance, 
A  la  Banque,  à  la  Bourse,  escroquant  dix  pour  un. 
Dans  ses  propos  rompus  outrageant  la  décence, 
Tel  était  autrefois  le  pontife  d'Autun. 
Plus  heureux  aujourd'hui,  sa  honte  est  moins  obscure  ; 
Froidement,  du  mépris  il  affronte  les  traits  ; 
Il  enseigne  le  vol  et  prêche  le  parjure. 
Et  sème  la  discorde  en  annonçant  la  paix. 
Sans  cesse  on  nous  redit  qu'il  ne  peut  rien  produire, 

•  The  monument  of  Queen  Louise  is  now  at  St.  Denis  ;  that  of  Louvois,  at 
the  hospital  of  Tonnerre  ;  that  of  the  Due  de  Crcqui,  at  St.  Roch. 


442  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Et  que  de  ses  discours  il  n'est  que  le  lecteur  ; 
Mais  ce  qu'un  autre  écrit,  c'est  d'Autun  qui  l'inspire." 

M??ie  de  Montrond. 

"  We  shall  see  the  Bishop  of  Autun,  Charles  Maurice  de  Tal- 
leyrand-Périgord,  serve  with  an  equal  convicton  of  loyalty,  the 
directory,  the  consulate  that  overthrew  the  directory,  the  empire 
which  overthrew  the  consulate,  the  restoration  which  overthrew 
the  empire,  and  the  revolution  of  July  which  overthrew  the  resto- 
ration. There  are  strange  dispensations  of  morality  for  political 
convictions," — Touc  hard- La  fosse,  "■Hist,  de  Parish 

"  The  palace,  which  is  in  a  noble,  rich  and  sombre  style,  was, 
for  a  long  time,  called  Hôtel  de  V Infantado  j  to-day  it  bears  on  its 
front,  above  the  principal  door,  Hôtel  Talleyrand. 

"  He  was  a  strange,  redoubtable  and  important  personage  ; 
his  name  was  Charles  Maurice  de  Périgord  ;  he  was  noble  like 
Macchiavelli,  a  priest  like  Gondi,  unfrocked  like  Fouché,  witty 
as  Voltaire,  and  lame  as  the  devil.  It  might  be  said  that  every- 
thing about  him  was  lame  ;  his  nobility,  which  he  made  the  hand- 
maid of  the  republic  ;  his  priesthood,  which  he  dragged  in  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  and  then  flung  into  the  gutter  ;  his  marriage, which 
he  broke  by  a  score  of  scandals  and  a  voluntary  separation  ;  his 
intellect,  which  he  dishonored  by  baseness. 

"  Into  this  palace,  like  a  spider  into  its  web,  he  drew  and  kept 
in  succession,  heroes,  thinkers,  great  men,  conquerors,  kings, 
princes,  emperors  ;  Bonaparte,  Sieyès,  Mme  de  Staël,  Chateau- 
briand, Benjamin  Constant,  Alexander  of  Russia,  William  of 
Prussia,  Francis  of  Austria,  Louis  XVIII.,  Louis  Philippe,  all 
the  golden  and  radiant  flies  which  buzz  in  the  history  of  these  last 
forty  years.  All  this  glittering  swarm  passed  in  succession  through 
that  sombre  doorway  which  bears  inscribed  on  its  architrave.  Hôtel 
Talleyrand. '' — Victor  Hugo,  "  Choses  vties." 

In  the  Rue  de  Luxembourg  is  the  church  of  V Assomp- 
tion^ built  (1670-76)  for  a  convent  of  Augustinian  nuns, 
now  a  barrack.  Robespierre  lived  long  opposite  this 
church,  at  No.  396  Rue  St.  Honore',  in  the  house  of  the 
carpenter  Duplay  (destroyed  by  the  Rue  Duphot).  All 
that  was  human  in  his  character  was  bestowed  upon  the 
family  of  his  host  :  for  them  chiefly  he  showed  the  grimace 
meant  for  a   smile   on   the  pinched  countenance  which 


PLACE   DE   LA    CONCORDE  443 

made  Mirabeau  compare  him  to  ''un  chat  qui  a  bu   du 
vinaigre  y 

Where  the  Rue  Royale  opens  towards  the  Madeleine, 
we  pass  the  Miftisûre  de  la  Marine  et  des  Colonies,  built 
(1760-68)  by  Gabriel,  and  gutted  during  the  Commune, 
and  reach  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  stately  and  beautiful 
with  its  obelisk,  fountains,  and  statues,  its  delightful  views 
down  green  avenues  to  the  Louvre  on  the  east,  and  the  Arc 
d'Etoile  on  the  west,  and  towards  the  magnificent  church 
of  the  Madeleine  on  the  north,  and  the  Chambre  des  De- 
putes on  the  south.  The  square  was  made  under  Louis  XV., 
and  was  decorated  with  his  equestrian  statue  by  Bouchar- 
don,  placed  on  a  pedestal  surrounded  by  bas-reliefs  and  al- 
legorical figures  of  the  Virtues  by  Pigalle,  which  imme- 
diately drew  forth  the  epigram — 

"  Oh  !  la  belle  statue  !  oh  !  le  beau  piédestal  '. 
Les  vertus  sont  à  pied,  le  vice  est  à  cheval," 

followed  a  few  days  later  by — 

"  Il  est  ici  comme  à  Versailles  : 
Il  est  sans  cœur  et  sans  entrailles," 

The  Legislative  Assembly  demolished  the  statue  in  the 
Place  Louis  XV.  (1792),  and  replaced  it  by  a  statue  of 
Liberty.  Soon,  however,  the  square  took  the  name  of 
Place  de  la  Révolution,  when  the  expression  guillotiner 
effaced  that  of  lanterner,  and,  under  the  Reign  of  Terror, 
the  scaffold  was  permanently  established  here.  Thus  the 
most  terrible  memories  of  the  great  Revolution  are  concen- 
trated on  this  spot,  where  2,800  persons  perished  between 
January  21,  1793,  and  May  3,  1795.  The  fountain  on  the 
south  side,  decorated  with  figures  emblematic  of  Marine 
Navigation,  marks  the  exact  spot  where  Louis  XVL  died, 
January  21,  1793. 


444 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


"  The  deepest  silence  reigned  on  all  sides.  On  arriving  at 
the  Place  de  la  Revolution,  the  king  repeatedly  commended  his 
confessor  to  the  care  of  the  lieutenant,  and  descended  from  the 
carriage.  He  was  at  once  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  executioner  ; 
he  took  off  his  coat  and  necktie  himself,  and  remained  covered 
by  a  simple  vest  of  white  flannel.  He  objected  to  his  hair  being 
cut,  and,  above  all,  to  being  tied.  A  few  words  from  his  con- 
fessor decided  him  at  once.  He  mounted  the  scaffold,  and 
walked  to  the  left  side  ;  his  face  was  very  red,  and  for  some 
minutes  he  looked  at  the  objects  around  him  ;  then  he  asked  if 
the  drums  would  not  stop  beating  ;  he  wished  to  speak,  but 
several  voices  cried  to  the  executioners,  who  were  four  in  number, 
to  do  their  duty.  Nevertheless,  while  they  were  putting  the 
straps  on  him,  he  pronounced  distinctly  these  words  :  '  I  die 
innocent,  I  pardon  my  enemies,  and  I  hope  my  blood  will  be 
useful  to  the  French  and  appease  the  anger  of  God.'  At  ten 
minutes  past  ten  o'clock,  his  head  was  separated  from  his  body, 
and  then  shown  to  the  people.  On  the  instant  cries  of  '  Vive  la 
République  !'  were  heard  from  all  sides." — Les  Révolutions  de  Fans. 

"When  they  reached  the  place  of  execution  and  they  offered 
to  tie  his  hands,  the  king  resisted,  and  said,  '  C'est  trop,'  but  on 
Mr.  Edgeworth's  reminding  him  how  acceptable  the  humiliation 
would  be  in  the  eyes  of  God,  and  citing  his  Saviour's  example, 
he  held  both  his  hands  out,  and  suffered  them  to  be  tied.  When 
on  the  scaffold,  the  trumpets  and  drums  sounded  according  to 
their  orders,  the  king  bowed,  as  desiring  leave  to  speak.  Every 
instrument  ceased  ;  all  was  silence  and  attention.  The  king 
said,  '  I  die  innocent  ;  I  forgive  my  enemies,  and  pray  God  to 
avert  His  vengeance  for  my  blood,  and  to  bless  my  people.'  He 
took  two  turns  on  the  scaffold,  and  then  prepared  himself  for 
death.  Mr.  Edgeworth  was  kneeling  by  him,  and  in  the  excess 
of  feeling  had  lost  all  recollection,  till  he  was  roused  by  the 
words,  '  the  head  of  a  traitor,'  and,  looking  up,  saw  his  sovereign's 
head  streaming  over  him  in  the  monster's  hands." — Journal  of 
Miss  Ann  Porter,  Nov.  3,  1796,  after  meeting  the  Abbé  Edgeworth, 
confessor  of  Louis  X  VI. 

"The  king  showed  himself,  in  the  presence  of  the  scaffold, 
what  he  had  always  been  in  the  midst  of  the  bowlings  of  a  furious 
multitude,  and  amid  the  outrages  of  his  imprisonment.  He  was 
sublime  in  his  calmness,  his  resignation,  and  his  courage.  His 
august  firmness  did  not  abandon  him,  either  during  his  farewells 
to  the  queen  and  his  children,  or  on  the  platform  of  the  scaffold. 


PLACE   DE  LA    CONCORDE  445 

He  protested  his  innocence,  and  prayed  God  not  to  let  his  blood 
fall  on  France.  But  his  voice  fell  only  on  the  deaf  ears  of 
soldiers  who  surrounded  the  scaffold  on  all  sides." — Balzac,  "  Six 
rois  de  France  y 

"Can  this  be  the  same  individual,  crowned  and  conse- 
crated at  Rheims,  mounted  on  a  dais,  surrounded  by  all  the 
great  of  the  realm,  all  kneeling  before  him,  greeted  with  a 
thousand  acclamations,  almost  adored  as  a  god  ;  whose  look, 
voice,  and  gesture  had  the  accent  of  command  ;  satiated  with 
respect,  honor  and  enjoyment  ;  separated,  so  to  speak,  from  the 
human  race  ;  can  this  be  the  same  man  whom  I  see  pulled  about 
by  the  headsman's  four  assistants,  stripped  by  force  while  the 
drums  drown  his  voice,  bound  to  a  plank  still  struggling,  and 
receiving  so  awkwardly  the  stroke  of  the  guillotine,  that  it  was 
not  his  neck  but  the  occiput  and  lower  jaw  that  were  cut  in  a 
horrible  manner? 

"  His  blood  flows  :  the  joyous  cries  of  eighty  thousand  armed 
men  strike  the  air  and  my  ears  ;  they  are  repeated  along  the 
quays  ;  I  see  the  scholars  of  the  Four  Nations  fling  their  hats  in 
the  air  ;  his  blood  flows,  and  it  is  who  shall  dip  into  it  his  finger- 
tip, a  feather,  a  bit  of  paper  ;  one  man  tastes  it,  and  says,  'It  is 
horribly  salt.'  An  executioner,  at  the  edge  of  the  scaffold,  sells 
and  distributes  little  packets  of  his  hair  ;  a  man  buys  the  string 
that  bound  them  ;  every  one  takes  away  a  little  piece  of  his 
clothes,  or  a  bloody  vestige  of  this  sanguinary  tragedy.  I  saw  the 
people  march  away,  arm-in-arm,  laughing,  chatting,  just  as  if 
returning  from  a  fête." — Mercier,  "  Le  nouveau  Parish 

The  king  was  taken  to  death  in  a  carriage,  the  queen 
in  a  cart. 

"  It  was  midday,  October  i6th,  1793.  The  guillotine  and  the 
people  were  impatient  of  waiting,  when  the  cart,  with  Marie 
Antoinette,  arrived  at  the  Place  de  la  Révolution.  The  widow 
of  Louis  XVI.  stepped  down  to  die  where  her  husband  had  died. 
The  mother  of  Louis  XVII.  turned  her  eyes  for  a  moment  to  the 
Tuileries,  and  became  paler  than  she  had  been  before.  Then  the 
Queen  of  France  mounted  the  scaffold  and  went  to  her  death. 

"  '  Vive  la  Républiqtte  !'  cried  the  people.  Sanson  displayed 
the  head  of  Marie  Antoinette  to  the  people,  while  beneath  the 
guillotine  the  gendarme  Mingault  dipped  his  handkerchief  in  the 
blood  of  the  xnd^iXyi"— Concourt,   "  Hist,  de  Marie- Antoinette" 


446  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

On  October  31,  1793,  the  weird  death  procession  of  the 
Girondins  reached  the  Place. 

"At  the  first  step  from  the  Conciergerie  the  Girondins  sang 
with  one  voice  and  as  a  funeral  march,  the  first  verse  of  the  Mar- 
seillaise, emphasizing  with  significant  energy  the  lines  suscep- 
tible of  a  double  meaning  : 

'  Contre  nous  de  la  tyrannie 
V étendard  sanglant  est  levé.  ' 

From  that  moment  they  ceased  to  think  of  themselves,  but  were 
occupied  with  the  example  of  a  republican  death,  which  they 
wished  to  leave  to  the  people.  Their  voices  never  sank  a  moment 
at  the  end  of  a  strophe,  but  to  be  raised  more  energetic  and  more 
sonorous  at  the  first  line  of  the  succeeding  strophe.  Their  march 
and  their  death-agony  were  but  a  song.  There  were  four  in  each 
cart  ;  one  only  had  five  of  them.  The  body  of  Valazé  was  in  the 
last  cart  ;  the  head,  uncovered  and  jolted  by  the  uneven  pavement, 
bobbed  up  and  down,  beneath  the  looks  and  on  the  knees  of  his 
friends,  who  were  obliged  to  close  their  eyes  to  avoid  the  spec- 
tacle of  that  livid  face.  Still  they  sang  like  the  others.  When 
they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold,  they  embraced  each  other 
in  token  of  communion  in  liberty,  in  life,  and  in  death.  Then 
they  resumed  the  funeral  chant  to  strengthen  each  for  his  doom, 
and  to  send,  till  the  last  moment,  to  the  ears  of  him  who  was 
undergoing  execution,  the  voices  of  his  companions  in  death. 
All  died  without  weakness  ;  Siller}^  with  irony,  for  on  his  as- 
cending the  platform  he  walked  round  it,  saluting  the  people, 
right  and  left,  as  if  to  thank  them  for  the  glory  of  the  scaffold. 
Every  fall  of  the  axe  reduced  the  number  of  voices  by  one  ;  the 
ranks  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold  grew  thinner  ;  one  solitary  voice 
continued  the  Marseillaise  ;  it  was  that  of  Vergniaud,  the  last  to 
die.  These  final  notes  were  his  last  words.  Like  his  com- 
panions, he  did  not  die,  he  vanished  in  enthusiasm,  and  his  life, 
begun  by  immortal  speeches,  ended  in  a  hymn  to  the  eternity  of 
the  Revolution. 

"One  and  the  same  tumbrel  took  away  the  decapitated  bod- 
ies ;  one  and  the  same  grave  covered  them  by  the  side  of  that  of 
Louis  XVL" — Lamartine,  ''Hist,  des  Girondins.'" 

Even  in  that  cruel  time,  sympathy  was  aroused  by  the 
death  of  Mme  Roland,  on  November  10,  1793. 


PLACE  DE  LA    CONCORDE  44^ 

"Many  carts  full  of  victims  bore  that  day  their  loads  of  con- 
demned to  the  scafîbld.  Mme  Roland  was  placed  in  the  last,  by 
the  side  of  a  weak  and  infirm  old  man  named  Lamarchc,  who  had 
been  the  director  of  the  manufacture  of  assignats.  She  was 
dressed  in  a  white  robe,  a  protestation  of  innocence  with  which 
she  wished  to  strike  the  people.  Her  beautiful  black  hair  fell  in 
waves  to  her  knees.  She  bent  with  filial  tenderness  over  her 
companion  in  death  ;  the  old  man  wept.  She  spoke  to  him,  and 
exhorted  him  to  firmness  ;  she  even  tried  to  cheer  the  funereal 
ride,  and  succeeded  in  making  him  smile. 

"The  scaffold  was  erected  by  the  side  of  the  colossal  Statue 
of  Liberty,  Arriving  there,  Mme  Roland  descended.  When  the 
executioner  took  her  by  the  arm  to  make  her  mount  the  scaffold 
first,  she  had  one  of  those  inspirations  of  devotion  which  a  wo- 
man's heart  alone  can  conceive  or  reveal  in  such  an  hour.  '  I  ask 
of  you  only  one  favor  ;  it  is  not  for  myself,'  she  said,  resisting 
slightly  the  arm  of  the  executioner  ;  '  grant  it  to  me  !  '  Then  turn- 
ing to  the  old  man,  '  Go  up  first,'  she  said  to  Lamarche  ;  '  the 
shedding  of  my  blood  before  your  eyes  will  cause  you  to  suffer 
death  twice  ;  you  ought  not  to  have  the  pain  of  seeing  my  head 
fall.'  The  executioner  consented.  After  the  execution  of  La- 
marche, which  she  heard  without  paling,  she  mounted  the  scaffold 
with  a  light  step,  and,  inclining  towards  the  Statue  of  Liberty,  as 
if  to  confess  her  faith  in  it  while  d^ing  for  it,  she  cried  :  '  O 
liberty  !  O  liberty  !  What  crimes  are  committed  in  thy  name  !  ' 
She  then  gave  herself  into  the  hands  of  the  executioner,  and  her 
head  fell  into  the  basket." — Lamartine,  ''Hist,  des  Girondins. '' 

May  9,  1794,  saw  the  execution  of  Madame  Elizabeth. 

"Madame  Elizabeth  was  seated  in  the  same  cart  with  Mmes 
de  Sénozan  and  de  Crussol-Amboise,  and  conversed  with  them 
during  the  passage  from  the  Conciergerie  to  the  Place  Louis  XV. 
To  the  laments  which  escaped  some  of  the  condemned,  she  re- 
plied by  touching  exhortations,  .  .  .  On  their  arrival  at  the  Place 
de  la  Révolution,  Madame  was  the  first  to  alight.  The  execu- 
tioner, as  if  to  assist  her,  extended  his  hand  ;  she  looked  aside, 
and  did  not  rest  on  the  arm  offered  to  her.  The  victims  found  at 
the  foot  of  the  scaffold  a  bench,  on  which  they  had  to  sit.  No 
one  displayed  weakness.  Encouraged  by  the  presence  and  the 
looks  of  the  sister  of  Louis  XVL,  each  of  the  condemned  re- 
solved to  rise  resolutely  when  his  name  was  called,  and  to 
accomplish  his  task  with  firmness.     The  first  name  pronounced 


448 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


by  the  executioner  was  that  of  Mme  de  Crussol.  She  rose  at 
once  and  bowed  to  Madame  Elizabeth,  and  in  testimony  of  the 
respect  and  love  with  which  the  princess  inspired  her,  asked  per- 
mission to  embrace  her.  'Willingly  and  with  all  my  heart,'  the 
princess  replied,  with  that  expression  of  affability  which  was  so 
natural  to  her  ;  and  the  royal  victim  held  her  face  forward  and 
gave  her  the  kiss  of  farewell,  of  death,  and  of  g\ory.  All  the 
ladies  followed  and  obtained  the  same  testimony  of  affection. 
The  men  too  did  themselves  the  honor  of  testifying  their  respect 
for  Madame  Elizabeth  ;  each,  in  his  turn,  bent  to  her  the  head 
which  a  minute  afterwards  would  fall  beneath  the  knife  of  the 
guillotine.  .  .  .  During  all  the  time  that  the  sacrifice  lasted,  the 
holy  woman,  who  seemed  to  preside  there,  never  ceased  saying 
the  De profundis.  Awaiting  her  death  she  prayed  for  the  dead. 
She  was  reserved  to  be  the  last  to  perish.  When  the  twenty-third 
came  and  bowed  before  her,  she  said  to  him,  'Courage  and  faith 
in  the  mercy  of  God  !  '  Then  she  rose  herself  to  be  ready  for  the 
executioner's  summons  ;  she  mounted  the  steps  of  the  scaffold 
with  a  firm  foot,  and  looking  towards  heaven,  placed  herself  in 
the  hands  of  the  executioner.  Her  neckerchief  fell  to  the  ground 
at  the  moment  when  she  was  being  bound  to  the  fatal  plank, 
and  displayed  a  silver  medal.  To  the  executioner's  man,  think- 
ing it  his  duty  to  take  from  her  this  emblem  of  piety,  she  said, 
'  In  the  name  of  your  mother,  monsieur,  cover  me  up.'  This  was 
the  last  word  of  Madame  Elizabeth." — A.  M.  de  Beauchesne. 

On  July  28,  1794,  Robespierre  paid  the  penalty  of  his 

crimes. 

"  In  place  of  occupying  the  throne  of  a  dictator,  Robespierre 
was  half  reclined  on  a  cart,  which  bore  his  accomplices,  Couthon 
and  Henriot.  Around  him  was  a  roar  and  a  tumult  of  a  thou- 
sand confused  cries  of  joy  and  mutual  congratulations.  His 
head  was  wrapped  up  in  a  dirty  and  bloody  piece  of  linen  ;  only 
his  pale  and  ferocious  half-face  was  visible.  His  companions, 
mutilated  and  disfigured,  were  less  like  criminals  than  wild  beasts 
caught  in  a  trap,  which  could  not  be  captured  without  crushing 
some  part  of  their  limbs.  A  burning  sun  did  not  prevent  the 
women  from  exposing  the  lilies  and  roses  of  their  cheeks  to  its 
rays  ;  they  wished  to  see  the  executioner  of  their  fellow-citizens. 
The  horsemen,  escorting  the  cart,  brandished  their  sabres  and 
pointed  to  him  with  the  naked  blades.  The  pontiff-king  no 
longer  dragged  the  Convention  after  him  at  ten  paces  distance  ; 


PLACE   DE  LA    CONCORDE  449 

he  seemed  to  retain  life  only  to  attest  divine  justice  and  its 
terrible  vengeance  on  hypocritical  and  bloodthirsty  men. 

"The  people  made  him  stop  near  the  place  of  execution, 
before  the  house  where  he  lodged,  and  a  group  of  women  then 
performed  a  dance  amid  the  clapping  of  hands  of  the  crowd. 
One  of  them  took  this  opportunity  to  address  him  by  voice  and 
gesture,  crying,  '  Thy  punishment  makes  me  drunk  with  jo)'^;  go 
to  hell  with  the  curses  of  all  wives  and  mothers  of  families.'  He 
remained  dumb. 

"  When  he  mounted  the  scaflfold,  the  executioner,  as  if  ani- 
mated by  the  public  hatred,  roughly  tore  the  bandages  from  his 
wounds  ;  he  uttered  a  scream  like  a  tiger  ;  the  lower  jaw  fell 
down  from  the  upper  one,  and,  as  the  blood  came  out  in  jets, 
made  this  human  head  into  the  head  of  a  monster,  the  most  hor- 
rible that  could  be  painted.  His  two  companions,  not  less  hide- 
ous in  their  torn  and  bloody  clothes,  were  the  acolytes  of  the 
great  criminal  whose  sufferings  did  not  inspire  the  slightest  pity 
in  any  one.  Although  he  was  mortally  wounded,  public  venge- 
ance demanded  from  him  a  second  death,  and  crowds  ran  not  to 
lose  the  instant  which  he  had  made  so  many  others  experience. 
The  applause  lasted  for  fifteen  minutes. 

"Twenty-two  heads  fell  with  his.  The  next  day,  seventy 
members  of  the  Commune  went  to  join  the  chief  whom  they  had 
chosen  ;  they  were  men  who  had  entered  our  cells  to  take  away 
our  food  and  deluge  us  with  humiliations.  The  following  day, 
twelve  other  members  of  the  Commune  paid  with  their  heads  for 
their  complicity  with  the  chief  of  the  conspirators,  but  these 
ignoble  and  vulgar  heads  of  dull  satellites  had  no  name  ;  that  of 
Robespierre  alone  was  taken  into  account." — Mercier,  "  Le  nou- 
veau Paris  y 

The  Obelisk  of  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  brought  from 
Luxor,  and  given  to  France  by  Mahomet- Ali,  was  erected 
here  under  Louis  Philippe,  in  1836.  It  is  covered  with 
hieroglyphics  celebrating  Rameses  IL,  or  Sesostris,  who 
reigned  in  the  fourteenth  century  before  Christ.  The 
history  of  its  transport  from  Egypt  is  represented  upon  the 
pedestal. 

It  was  at  the  foot  of  this  obelisk,  on  the  spot  where 
Louis  XVI.  died,  that  Louis  Philippe  and  Marie  Amélie, 


45  o  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

flying  on  foot  by  the  gardens  before  the  popular  invasion 
of  the  Tuileries,  on  February  24,  1848^  waited  in  agony  for 
their  carriages  (which  were  being  burnt  at  that  moment  by 
the  insurgents  in  the  Place  du  Carrousel)  and  eventually 
were  rescued  by  a  private  brougham. 

Eight  allegorical  statues  typify  the  great  cities  of  France 
— Lyons,  Marseilles,  Bordeaux,  Nantes,  Lille,  Strasbourg, 
Rouen,  and  Brest.  Since  that  city  has  ceased  to  be 
French,  the  statue  of  Strasbourg  (by  Pradier)  has  always 
been  draped  in  mourning  ! 

At  every  hour  of  the  day  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  is 

beautiful  and  imposing. 

"  It  was  four  o'clock  ;  the  lovely  day  was  ending  in  a  golden 
haze  of  sunlight.  To  right  and  left,  towards  the  Madeleine  and 
the  Corps  Législatif,  the  lines  of  houses  touched  the  sky,  while 
in  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries  the  round  summits  of  the  great 
chestnut  trees  towered  aloft.  Between  the  two  green  borders  of 
the  side  alleys,  the  avenue  of  the  Champs  Elysées  soared  till  lost 
to  sight  beneath  the  colossal  gate  of  the  Arc  de  Triomphe,  wide- 
gaping  on  infinity.  A  double  current  of  crowd,  a  double  stream 
rolled  on,  furrowed  with  the  living  tracks  of  equipages,  and 
studded  with  the  fleeting  waves  of  carriages,  which  the  reflection 
of  a  panel  or  the  gleam  from  the  glass  of  a  lamp  seemed  to 
whiten  into  foam.  Below,  the  Place,  with  its  immense  foot- 
paths and  causeways,  as  wide  as  lakes,  was  filled  by  this  continu- 
ous tide,  crossed  in  all  directions  by  flashing  wheels,  and  peopled 
with  black  spots  that  were  men  ;  and  the  two  fountains  flowed 
and  exhaled  freshness  into  this  burning  life." — Zola,  "  VŒtcvre" 

Two  groups  of  sculpture  by  Guillaume  Coustou,  known 
as  Les  Chevaux  de  Marly,  decorate  the  entrance  to  the 
noble  promenade  originally  called  "  Le  Grand  Cours,"  but 
which  has  been  known  as  Les  Champs  Elysées  since  the 
time  of  Louis  XV.  It  extends  from  the  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde to  the  Arc  de  l'Etoile,  and  is  the  favorite  afternoon 
walk  of  the  fashionable  world  of  Paris,  where  the  badaud, 
or  French  cockney,  is  seen  in  perfection. 


LES   CHAMPS  ELY  SEES  4^1 

"  There  is  not  one  blade  of  grass  in  all  these  Elysian  Fields, 
nothing  but  hard  clay,  often  covered  with  white  dust.  This  gives 
the  whole  scene  the  air  of  being  a  contrivance  of  man,  in  which 
Nature  has  either  not  been  invited  to  take  any  part,  or  has  de- 
clined to  do  so.  There  are  merry-go-rounds,  wooden  horses, 
and  other  provision  for  children's  amusement  among  the  trees  ; 
and  booths,  and  tables  of  cakes,  and  candy  women,  and  restau- 
rants on  the  borders  of  the  wood." — LLawthonie,  ^^  Note-Books^ 

Behind  the  principal  avenues  are  ranges  of  exhibition 
booths,  and  cafés-concerts,  which  attract  a  humbler  crowd. 
Here  idolizing  parents  will  stand  for  hours  to  watch  their 
petits  boîishommes  caracolling  on  wooden  horses,  while  la 
bonfie,  in  a  snowy  cap,  holds  the  babies.  Here  the  sellers 
of  souprf-s  and  gâteaux  de  Nanterre  drive  a  busy  trade. 

"  Paris  is  the  only  city  of  the  world  where  you  will  meet  the 
sights  which  make  the  boulevards  a  continual  drama,  played  by 
the  French  people  for  the  benefit  of  art." — Balzac,  ''Le  Cousin 
Pons." 

"  Look  !  everything  is  flying,  fleeing,  and  buzzing.  Here  are 
the  light  calèches  with  four  horses,  manes  floating,  nostrils  dilated, 
calèches  with  women  so  delicate  and  so  perfumed,  so  rosy  and  so 
white,  that  one  would  call  them,  so  quick  do  they  pass,  fragrant 
baskets  of  flowers.  Here  are  the  tilburys,  with  their  share-bro- 
kers, perched  on  double  cushions  ;  they  love  to  fall  from  a  good 
height,  your  share-brokers  !  Here  are  English  horses,  French 
horses,  Arab  horses,  all  proud,  all  prancing,  all  with  heads  held 
high,  a  rosette  at  the  ear,  and  a  fool  on  the  back.  Here  is  noise 
and  dust,  show  and  laughter,  admiring  women  and  admiring 
dolts  ;  here  are  glances  of  love  cast  in  passing,  plumes  that  fly 
away,  equipages  that  cross  each  other  ;  here  is  coquetry  and 
rivalry,  here  is  gold,  here  is  sun,  here  is  everything.  .  .  .  Every- 
thing, alas  !  except  happiness." — Atnédc'e  Gratiot. 

"  Vanity  and  economy,  which  seem  as  if  they  ought  to  be 
eternally  at  war,  are,  in  the  life  of  a  Parisienne,  two  forces  in  equi- 
librium, that  walk  submissively  with  fraternal  steps  towards  the 
end  assigned  them.  .  .  .  'We  must  make  an  appearance,' says 
the  one.  .  .  .  '  At  little  expense,' adds  the  other.  .  .  .  There  is 
no  concession  they  will  not  mutually  make  to  obtain  this  com- 
plex result." — E,  Raymond, 


452 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


"  The  promenade,  properly  so  called,  of  the  Champs  Elysées 
stops  at  the  Rond  Point  ;  farther  on,  it  is  merely  a  wide  avenue 
bordered  on  two  sides  by  fine  houses  of  grand  appearance,  and 
rising  slowly  in  a  gentle  slope  to  the  Arc  de  l'Etoile.  In  the  morn- 
ing nobody  is  seen  in  the  Champs  Elysées,  in  the  afternoon  all 
the  world  ;  but  on  one  particular  day  this  great  avenue  presents 
an  appearance  of  striking  character  and  originality.  That  day  is 
Sunday, 

"Then,  from  two  o'clock,  the  space  between  the  Horses  of 
Marly  and  the  Arc  de  Triomphe  disappears  beneath  a  moving 
mass  of  vehicles  of  all  sorts.  Calèches  harnessed  à  la  Daumont 
are  mingled  with  fiacres.  Landaus  with  armorial  bearings  on  their 
panels  drive  alongside  carts  with  awnings.  Coupés  and  mylords, 
carrioles  and  baskets  meet  there  ;  and  in  this  confusion  of  vehicles 
of  all  shapes  and  forms,  the  omnibuses,  like  lofty  ships,  pass  to 
and  fro,  slowly. 

"  In  this  coming  and  going,  where  the  movement  and  duration 
tire  the  eye,  all  classes  of  society  are  represented,  the  millionaire 
and  the  workman.  The  man  who  has  won  his  rank  and  fortune 
by  laborious  efforts,  shoulders  the  heir  of  a  great  name." — Amédée 
A  chard. 

Chateaubriand  saw  the  royal  captives  of  Versailles 
brought  into  Paris  by  the  Champs  Elyse'es. 

"  On  the  5th  October,  1789,  I  ran  to  the  Champs  Elysées  ;  the 
first  things  I  saw  were  cannons  on  which  harpies,  thieves  and  pros- 
titutes were  mounted  astride,  making  the  most  obscene  remarks 
and  the  most  immodest  gestures.  Then,  in  the  midst  of  a  horde 
of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  the  body-guard  marched  on  foot,  having 
exchanged  hats,  swords  and  belts  with  the  National  Guards,  and 
each  of  their  horses  carried  two  or  three  fishwomen,  dirty  bac- 
chanals, drunk  and  dishevelled.  The  deputation  of  the  National 
Assembly  came  next,  the  king's  carriages  followed,  and  rolled  on 
in  the  dusty  obscurity  of  a  forest  of  pikes  and  bayonets.  Rag- 
pickers in  tatters,  butchers  with  their  bloody  aprons  and  their 
knives  in  their  belts,  their  shirt-sleeves  rolled  up,  walked  at  the 
doors  ;  other  monsters  had  climbed  to  the  roof,  others  perched  on 
the  footboard  of  the  lackeys  and  the  drivers'  seats.  Guns  and 
pistols  were  discharged,  and  cries  were  raised  of  Vive  le  boulanger, 
la  botilangère  et  le  petit  mitron  !  In  place  of  the  oriflamme  in  front 
of  the  son  of  St.  Louis,  the  Swiss  halberts  raised  aloft  the  heads 


AVENUE   KLEBRR  453 

of  two  body-guards,  curled  and  powdered  by  a  barber  of  Sèvres." 
— "  Mémoires  d' Outre-  l\vube.'" 

On  the  left  of  the  Champs  Elysees  is  the  Palais  iV In- 
dustrie^ built  (1852-55)  for  the  Great  Exhibition,  and  used 
since  for  the  annual  Exhibitions  of  Painting  and  Sculpture, 
open  daily  from  8  to  6,  except  on  Mondays,  when  it  opens 
at  12  (admission,  i  f r.  ;  free  on  Saturdays  after  10,  and 
Tuesdays  from  12  to  6).  Beyond  this,  the  Avenue  Moti- 
taigne  branches  off  (left),  containing  the  quaint  Hotel Pom- 
péien,  built  (i860)  for  Prince  Napoleon.  The  Avenue 
d'Antin  leads  to  the  river,  where,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue 
Bayard  and  Cour  de  la  Reine — nearly  opposite  the  Pont 
des  Invalides  —is  the  quaint  Maison  de  François  I.,  built 
by  that  king  (in  1523)  at  Moret,  near  the  forest  of  Fon- 
tainebleau, for  his  sister  Marguerite,  purchased  by  a  private 
individual,  transported  hither  in  1827,  and  rebuilt,  stone 
for  stone.  It  bears  medallions  of  Louis  XII.,  Anne  de 
Bretagne,  François  IL,  Marguerite  de  Navarre,  Henri  IL, 
Diane  de  Poitiers,  and  François  I.  Ail  the  sculptures  are 
attributed  to  Jean  Goujon.  On  the  back  of  the  house, 
which  is  a  perfect  square,  is  inscribed — 

"  Qui  scit  frenare  linguam  sensumque  domare, 
Fortior  est  illo  qui  frangit  viribus  urbes  !  " 

Voltaire,  returning  to  Paris  from  Berlin,  lived  with  the 
Marquis  de  Villette,  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de  Beaune, 
and  died  there,  May  30,  1778. 

From  the  Ro7id  Point,  the  Aveiiue  Kleber  leads  to  the 
Place  du  Trocadèro.  George,  King  of  Hanover,  lived  in 
the  corner-house  of  the  Rue  de  Presbourg  and  Avenue 
Kleber,  and  there  he  died,  June  12,  1878.  The  Palais  du 
Trocadèro,  built  in  the  Oriental  style  (in  1878),  is  of  the 
same  character  internally  as  the  Crystal  Palace  at  Syden- 


454  WALKS  nV  PARIS 

ham.  It  contains  a  Muste  de  Sculpture  Comparée  or  des 
Moulages^  and  an  Ethnographical  Museum.  There  are  fine 
views  from  the  galleries  and  balconies.  Zola  describes  a 
sunset  as  seen  from  here. 

"  Paris,  that  morning,  displayed  a  charming  laziness  in 
awakening.  A  vapor,  following  the  valley  of  the  Seine,  bathed 
both  banks.  It  was  a  light,  almost  milky  haze  which  the  sun,  as 
it  gradually  grew  brighter,  lighted  up.  Nothing  could  be  seen  of 
the  town  beneath  that  floating  muslin,  gray  as  time.  In  the  folds, 
the  cloud  thickened  into  a  bluish  tint,  while  on  the  broader 
spaces  were  delicately  transparent  gleams,  where  a  golden  dust 
indicated  the  lines  of  streets  ;  and,  higher  up,  domes  and  spires 
pierced  the  fog,  rearing  up  their  gray  outlines,  still  wrapped  in 
drifts  of  the  mist  which  they  penetrated.  At  times,  flakes  of  yel- 
low smoke  were  detached  as  by  the  heavy  stroke  of  the  wing  of 
some  giant  bird,  and  then  melted  into  the  air  that  seemed  to 
swallow  them  up.  Above  this  immensity,  and  this  cloud,  lower- 
ing and  sleeping  over  Paris,  a  pure  sky  of  a  tender  blue,  almost 
white,  spread  out  its  deep  vault.  The  sun  rose  in  a  haze  soft- 
ened by  its  rays.  A  white  cloud,  white  with  the  vague  whiteness 
of  infancy,  burst  into  showers,  and  filled  the  space  with  its  warm 
quiverings.  It  was  a  feast,  the  sovereign  peace  and  tender  gaiety 
of  the  infinite,  while  the  city,  smitten  with  golden  darts,  lazy  and 
sleepy,  did  not  make  up  her  mind  to  show  herself  under  her 
lace. 

"At  the  horizon,  long  shudders  coursed  over  the  sleeping 
lake.  Then,  suddenly,  this  lake  seemed  to  give  way,  gaps  were 
visible,  and  from  one  end  to  the  other,  a  crack  announced  the 
break  up.  The  sun,  still  higher,  in  the  triumphant  glory  of  his 
beams,  victoriously  attacked  the  fog.  Gradually  the  great  lake 
seemed  to  sink  as  if  some  invisible  drain  had  emptied  it.  The 
vapors,  just  now  so  deep,  became  thinner  and  transparent  as  they 
assumed  the  bright  colors  of  the  rainbow.  All  the  left  bank  was 
of  a  tender  blue,  slowly  deepening  into  violet  on  the  side  of  the 
Jardin  des  Plantes.  On  the  right  bank,  the  quarter  of  the  Tuil- 
eries had  the  pale  rose  tint  of  flesh  color,  and  towards  Montmar- 
tre, there  was,  as  it  were,  the  glare  of  flame,  carmine  flushing 
into  gold,  and  then,  farther  away,  the  working  faubourgs  exhib- 
ited their  dull  brick  tones,  bit  by  bit,  passing  into  the  bluish  gray 
of  the  slates.      Even  yet  one  could  not  distinguish  the  city,  tram- 


ARC  DE   L'ETOILE 


459 


drawing  a  second  pistol  from  his  pocket.  The  Emperor, 
without  a  sign  of  fear  or  emotion,  quietly  rode  on  to  over- 
take the  Empress,  and  assure  her  himself  of  his  safety.  It 
had  been  near  this  that  the  people  fired  upon  Louis  Phi- 
lippe in  his  flight,  and  killed  two  horses  of  the  escort. 

The  Champs  Elysees  are  closed  by  the  huge  Arc  de 
r Etoile,  one  of  the  four  triumphal  arches  which  Napoleon 
I.  intended  to  erect  in  commemoration  of  his  victories,  and 
which  he  began  from  designs  of  Chalgrin,  in  1806,  though 
the  work  was  not  completed  till  1836,  long  after  founder 
and  architect  had  passed  away.  It  is  the  largest  triumphal 
arch  in  the  world  ;  the  arch  itself  being  90  feet  high  and 
45  feet  wide.  The  groups  of  sculpture  which  adorn  it  are 
by  Rude,  Cortot,  and  Etex  :  that  by  Rude,  of  the  Genius 
of  War  summoning  the  nation  to  arms,  is  the  best.  There 
is,  however,  nothing  fine  about  the  Arc  de  l'Etoile  except 
its  size.  The  arch  itself  is  far  too  narrow  for  its  height, 
and  the  frippery  ornament  along  the  top  of  the  structure 
destroys  all  grandness  of  outline.  The  hugeness  of  the 
building  is  in  itself  a  disfigurement,  and,  like  the  giant 
statues  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  it  puts  all  its  surroundings 
out  of  proportion. 

Perhaps  more  than  any  other  monument  in  Paris,  this 
arch  seems  erected  to  show  the  instability  of  thrones  and 
the  fleeting  power  of  man  :  yet  Victor  Hugo  wrote  of  it — 

"  Quand  des  toits,  des  clochers,  des  ruches  tortueuses, 
Des  porches,  des  frontons,  des  dômes  pleins  d'orgueil 
Qui  faisaient  cette  ville,  aux  voix  tumultueuses, 
Touffue,  inextricable  et  fourmillante  à  l'œil, 

Il  ne  restera  plus  dans  l'immense  campagne 
Pour  toute  pyramide  et  pour  tout  Panthéon, 
Que  deux  tours  de  granit,  faites  par  Charlemagne 
Et  qu'un  pilier  d'airain  fait  par  Napoléon, 

Toi  !  tu  compléteras  le  triangle  sublime  .  .  ." 


460  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

From  the  arch,  the  Avenue  de  Neiiilly  leads  to  the' 
village  of  that  name.  About  i  k.^  opposite  the  entrance  to 
the  Bois  de  Boulogne  called  Port  Maillot,  is  the  Chapelle 
St,  Ferdinaîid  (shown  daily),  enclosing  the  room  in  which 
Ferdinand,  Due  d'Orléans,  died  from  injuries  received  in 
trying  to  jump  from  his  carriage,  at  this  spot,  when  its 
horses  were  running  away.^  The  touching  cenotaph  of  the 
duke  (who  is  buried  with  his  family  at  Dreux)  is  by  Trin- 
queti  from  designs  of  Ary  Scheffer.  The  angel  on  the 
right  is  one  of  the  last  works  of  the  Princess  Marie.  The 
prie-dieu  in  the  chapel  are  all  embroidered  by  different 
members  of  the  Orléans  royal  family.  A  Descent  from  the 
Cross,  by  Trinqueti,  from  designs  of  Ary  Scheffer,  occupies 
a  niche  behind  the  high-altar.  A  picture  by  Jacquand 
represents  the  touching  scene  on  this  spot  during  "  Les 
Derniers  Moments  du  Duc  d'Orléans.  "  His  august  mother, 
the  Queen  Marie  Amélie,  has  left  an  account  of  them. 

"We  entered  the  tavern,  and  there,  in  a  little  room,  on  a 
mattress  stretched  on  the  floor,  we  found  Chartres,  whom  the  doc- 
tor was  just  then  bleeding.  ...  I  went  for  a  moment  into  the 
little  room  to  the  right,  where  I  flung  myself  on  my  knees,  and 
prayed  to  God  from  the  bottom  of  my  soul  that  if  he  demanded 
a  victim  he  would  take  me,  and  save  our  dear  child.  Soon  after 
Doctor  Pasquier  came.  I  said  to  him,  '  Monsieur,  you  are  a  man 
of  honor  ;  if  you  believe  the  danger  imminent,  I  beg  you  to  tell 
me,  so  that  my  child  may  receive  extreme  unction.'  He  bowed 
his  head  and  said,  '  Madame,  it  is  time.'  The  curé  of  Neuilly  en- 
tered, and  administered  the  sacrament,  while  we  knelt  around 
the  bed,  weeping  and  praying.  I  took  from  my  neck  a  small 
cross  containing  a  piece  of  the  true  cross,  and  placed  it  in  the 
hand  of  my  poor  child,  that  God  the  Saviour  might  have  pity  on 
him  during  his  passage  to  eternity.  .  .  .  M.  Pasquier  rose  and 
whispered  to  the  king.  Then  this  venerable  and  unfortunate 
father,  his  face  bathed  in  tears,  knelt  by  his  eldest  son,  embraced 
him  tenderly,  and  cried,  '  Oh,  if  it  were  I  in  his  place  !  ' 

»  The  road  was  then  called  Chemin  de  la  Révolte. 


CHAPELLE   ST.    EERDIN^AND  461 

"  I  also  drew  near  and  kissed  him  thrice,  for  myself,  for 
Hélène,  and  for  his  children.  I  put  to  his  mouth  the  little  cross, 
the  sign  of  our  redemption,  and  then  placed  and  left  it  on  his 
heart.  All  the  family  in  succession  embraced  him,  and  each  re- 
turned to  his  place.  His  respiration  became  uneven,  it  was  in- 
terrupted and  resumed  twice,  and  I  then  asked  the  priest  to  return 
and  say  the  prayers  for  the  dying.  He  had  scarcely  knelt  down 
and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  when  my  dear  child  gave  a  last, 
deep  inspiration,  and  his  soul,  so  beautiful,  good  and  generous, 
and  noble,  quitted  his  corpse.  The  priest,  at  my  request,  said  a 
De  profîindis ;  the  king  wished  to  remove  me,  but  I  entreated 
him  to  let  me  kiss,  for  the  last  time,  this  beloved  son,  the  object 
of  my  deepest  affection.  I  took  that  beloved  head  in  my  hands, 
and  kissed  the  pale  and  discolored  lips.  I  placed  on  them  the 
little  cross,  and  removed  it  as  I  said  a  last  farewell  to  him  whom  I 
loved  so  much,  whom  perhaps  I  loved  too  much.  The  king  led 
me  into  the  next  room.  I  flung  m)^self  on  his  neck,  and  we  were 
wretched  together  ;  our  irreparable  loss  was  common  to  both, 
and  I  suffered  as  much  on  his  account  as  on  my  own.  There 
was  a  crowd  in  the  little  room.  I  wept,  and  talked,  and  was  be- 
side myself. 

"At  the  end  of  some  minutes  it  was  announced  that  all  was 
ready.  The  corpse  was  placed  on  a  bier,  covered  by  a  white 
sheet.  It  was  borne  by  four  men  of  the  house,  and  steadied  by 
two  gendarmes.  We  left  by  the  carriage  door  of  the  stables  ;  an 
immense  crowd  was  outside.  Two  battalions  of  the  2d  and  the 
17th  'light,'  who  had  with  him  passed  the  Iron  Gates,  and  forced 
the  pass  of  Mouzaïa,  lined  the  road,  and  escorted  us.  We  all 
followed  on  foot  the  inanimate  corpse  of  this  well-loved  son,  who 
a  few  hours  before  had  come  by  this  road  full  of  health,  strength, 
happiness,  and  hope,  to  embrace  his  parents,  who  were  now 
plunged  into  the  deepest  woe." 

Victor  Hugo  narrates  how — 

"For  the  dying  Duke  of  Orleans,  a  mattress  was  hurriedly 
placed  on  the  ground,  and  a  pillow  was  made  of  an  old  straw 
arm-chair  turned  over. 

"A  cracked  stove  was  behind  the  prince's  head.  Pots  and 
pans  and  coarse  earthenware  furnished  some  shelves  along  the 
wall.  Some  big  shears,  a  fowling-piece,  some  twopenny  colored 
pictures,  nailed  up  at  the  four  corners,  represented  Mazagran, 
the  Wandering  Jew,  and  the  attempt  of  Fieschi.     A  portrait  of 


462  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Napoleon,  and  one  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  (Louis  Philippe)  as' 
colonel-general  of  hussars,  completed  the  armaments  of  the  wall. 
The  floor  was  of  red  bricks,  not  painted.  Two  old  chests  stood 
at  the  left  of  the  prince's  death-bed." — "  Choses  vues." 

The  Bridge  of  Neuilly,  twice  rebuilt  since,  was  origi- 
nally erected  by  Henri  IV.,  who  was  nearly  drowned  in 
crossing  the  ferry  here  with  Marie  de  Medicis.  Here, 
also,  Pascal  had  that  narrow  escape  of  being  drowned  by 
runaway  horses,  which  led  to  his  renunciation  of  the  world. 

The  Château  de  Neuilly,  built  by  the  Comte  d'Argen- 
son  in  1740,  and  afterwards  inhabited  by  Talleyrand,  Mu- 
rât, and  Pauline  Bonaparte,  was  given  by  Louis  XVIII.  to 
his  cousin  the  Due  d'Orléans.  Almost  all  the  children  of 
Louis  Philippe  were  born  there,  and  there,  in  1830,  he  ac- 
cepted the  French  crown.  The  château  was  the  scene  of 
most  of  the  happy  events  of  the  family  life  of  Louis  Phi- 
lippe, and  in  its  chapel  the  king  and  queen  watched,  from 
his  death  to  his  funeral,  beside  the  body  of  their  beloved 
eldest  son. 

"  Louis  Philippe  was  a  king  who  was  too  much  a  father,  and 
this  incubation  of  a  family,  which  is  intended  to  produce  a 
dynasty,  is  frightened  at  everything,  and  does  not  like  to  be  dis- 
turbed. Hence  arises  excessive  timidity,  which  is  offensive  to  a 
nation  which  has  July  14th  in  its  civil  traditions,  and  Austerlitz 
in  its  military  annals.  However,  when  we  abstract  public  duties 
which  should  ever  be  first  fulfilled,  the  family  deserved  Louis 
Philippe's  profound  tenderness  for  it.  This  domestic  group  was 
admirable,  and  combined  virtue  with  talent.  One  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Louis  Philippe,  Marie  d'Orléans,  placed  the  name  of  her 
race  among  artists  as  Charles  d'Orléans  had  done  among  the 
poets,  and  she  produced  a  statue  which  she  called  Joan  of  Arc. 
Two  of  Louis  Philippe's  sons  drew  from  Metternich  this  dema- 
gogic praise  :  'They  are  young  men  whose  like  can  be  found  no- 
where, and  such  princes  as  were  never  seen  before.'" — Victor 
Hugo,  "  Les  Misérables'' 

During   the  crisis  of   1848,  the  French   pillaged    and 


LE  BOIS  DE   BOULOGNE  463 

plundered  the  home  of  their  king,  and  600,000/.  worth  of 
his  private  property  was  destroyed  by  the  robbers  of  the 
Revolution,  though  the  private  charities  of  Louis  PhiHppe 
and  Marie  AmeUe  during  their  seventeen  years'  reign  had 
amounted  to  21,650,000  fr.  or  800,000/.,  and  those  of  the 
Due  and  Duchesse  d'Orléans  to  an  annual  sum  of  nearly 
20,0000/  A  cruel  decree  of  Louis  Napoleon  compelled  the 
royal  family  to  sell  their  estates  in  185 1.  Since  that  time 
the  royal  park  of  Neuilly  has  been  cut  up  for  avenues  of 
villas.  Nothing  remains  of  Villiers,  the  residence  of  the 
last  Duke  of  Orléans,  except  a  pavilion  on  the  Place  de 
Villiers-la-Garenne.  The  Palace  of  Madame  Adélaïde,  sis- 
ter of  Louis  Philippe,  was  (in  1863)  occupied  by  the  Con- 
servatoire de  Notre  Dame  des  Arts,  and  is  now  a  school. 

From  the  Arc  de  l'Etoile  several  long  and  rather  dreary 
avenues  lead  to  the  Bois.  That  called  Aveîiice  du  Bois  de 
Boulogne  (formerly  de  l'Impératrice)  is  the  most  animated, 
but  the  Aveuue  d'Eylau  leads  more  directly  to  the  gate  of 
the  Bois  called  Porte  de  la  Muette,  The  heights  of  Mont 
Valérien  are  always  a  fine  feature,  rising  behind  the  woods. 
At  the  corner  of  the  Avenue  Malakoff  and  that  of  the  Bois 
de  Boulogne  is  the  house  of  Dr.  Evans,  the  American 
dentist,  where  the  Empress  Eugénie  spent  the  first  night 
(September  4-5,  1870)  after  her  flight  from  the  Tuileries. 

The  Bois  de  Boulogne  is  part  of  the  ancient  forest  of 
Rouvray  i— of  which  Louis  XL  made  his  barber,  Olivier  le 
Daim,  Grand-Forester  {gruyer)—^\i^xQ.  Henri  IL  and  Diane 
de  Poitiers  loved  to  give  hunting  fêtes,  and  where  Louis  XV. 
held  orgies  in  the  Château  de  la  Muette  which  Charles  IX. 
had  built.  The  name  was  changed  after  pilgrims  in  13 19) 
had  erected  a  church  in  honor  of  Notre  Dame  de  Boulogne 
in  the  neighboring  village  of  Menus-les-St. -Cloud,  which 

>  Roveritum,  Rouvret,  Rouvrai. 


464  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

forthwith  took  the  name  of  Boulogne.  Ceded  to  the  town' 
of  Paris  by  Napoleon  III.,  the  Bois  has  ever  since  been  the 
favorite  play-ground  of  the  Parisians,  and  in  this  "  nature  si 
artistement  mondaine  "  ^  all  that  is  possible  of  luxury  of 
equipages  and  toilette  may  be  seen  especially  from  3  to  5 
in  winter,  and  5  to  7  in  summer. 

"  Of  course  we  drove  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  that  limitless 
park,  with  its  forests,  its  lakes,  its  cascades,  and  its  broad 
avenues.  There  were  thousands  upon  thousands  of  vehicles 
abroad,  and  the  scene  was  full  of  life  and  gaiety.  There  were 
very  common  hacks,  with  father,  mother,  and  all  the  children  in 
them  ;  conspicuous  little  open  carriages,  with  celebrated  ladies 
of  doubtful  reputation  in  them  ;  there  were  dukes  and  duchesses 
abroad,  with  gorgeous  footmen  perched  behind,  and  equally 
gorgeous  outriders  perched  on  each  of  the  six  horses  ;  there  were 
blue  and  silver,  and  green  and  gold,  and  pink  and  black,  and  all 
sorts  and  descriptions  of  startling  liveries  out. 

"I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.  I 
cannot  do  it.  It  is  simply  a  beautiful,  cultivated,  endless, 
wonderful  wilderness.  It  is  an  enchanting  place.  It  is  in  Paris 
now,  but  a  crumbling  old  cross  in  one  portion  of  it  reminds  one 
that  it  was  not  always  so.  The  cross  marks  the  spot  where  a 
celebrated  troubadour  was  waylaid  and  murdered  in  the  four- 
teenth century.  It  was  in  this  park  that  the  fellow  with  the  un- 
pronounceable name  made  the  attempt  on  the  Russian  Czar's  life 
with  a  pistol.  The  bullet  struck  a  tree.  Now,  in  America  that 
interesting  tree  would  be  chopped  down  and  forgotten  within  five 
years,  but  it  will  bé  treasured  here.  The  guides  will  point  it 
out  to  visitors  for  the  next  800  years,  and  when  it  decays  and  falls 
down  they  will  put  up  another  there  and  go  on  with  the  old  story 
just  the  same." — Mark  Twain,   "  The  Innocents  Abroad." 

"The  Bois  de  Boulogne  is  still  Paris  ;  the  Paris  of  fêtes  and 
promenades,  the  Paris  of  green  trees  and  country  pleasures,  the 
Paris  of  duels  and  amours.  In  the  morning,  a  duel  and  break- 
fast ;  at  two  o'clock,  a  stroll  and  ennui  ;  in  the  evening,  dinner 
and  intrigue.  There  are  people  who  live  in  Paris,  have  their 
houses  and  pay  taxes  in  Paris,  whose  whole  existence  is  passed 
in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne." — Amédée  Gratiot. 

"You  who  have  seen  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  in  its  days  of 

1  Zola,  La  Curée. 


LE  BOIS  DE  BOULOGNE 


465 


splendor,  with  its  alleys  thronged  by  brilliant  horsemen  and 
sumptuous  equipages  that  seem  to  glide  beneath  domes  of  ver- 
dure ;  you  who  have  followed  these  heroes  of  fashion,  with  their 
elegant  yet  simple  dress,  and  their  noble,  easy  and  graceful  bear- 
ing, retrace  for  us  with  bright  colors,  that  youth  devoted  solely  to 
luxury  and  pleasure,  which  shows  itself  wherever  vanity  can 
exhibit  her  pomp,  or  idleness  can  display  her  ennui. 

"Grace,  folly,  wit,  and  debt  are  still  the  heritage  of  the 
young  Frenchmen  of  our  days.  The  nineteenth  century  need  not 
blush  before  its  ancestors  ;  there  is  always  the  same  amiable 
frivolity  of  character,  the  same  ease  of  manner,  the  same  love  of 
luxury  and  adornment  of  which  our  predecessors  were  accused. 
I  recognize  the  worthy  sons  of  the  men,  who,  according  to  the 
saying  of  a  great  king,  "wore  on  their  backs  their  farms  and 
their  timber  trees.'  " — Balzac,    "  Esquisses  parisiennes  y 

Entering  the  Bois  by  the  Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
the  Route  de  Suresnes  soon  leads  us  to  the  Lac  Supérieur. 
On  the  further  side  of  the  lake,  between  it  and  the  Pré 
Catelan,  is  the  Pare  aux  Daims.  Beyond  the  Lac  Supérieur 
is  the  Butte  Mortemart,  a  hillock  whence  there  are  views 
towards  the  heights  of  Issy,  Meudon,  Bellevue,  St.  Cloud, 
Suresnes,  and  Mont  Vale'rien.  Between  this  and  the  Porte 
d'Auteuil  is  the  Champ  de  Courses  for  steeple-chases.  On 
the  further  side  of  the  Bois,  reached  most  quickly  by 
taking  the  direct  road  from  the  Carrefour  des  Cascades 
between  the  two  lakes,  is  the  plain  of  Longchamp,  divided 
into  a  Hippodrome  and  Champ  d^ Entrahiement^  between 
which  are  to  be  seen  some  small  remains  of  the  Abbaye  de 
Longchamp,  founded  (1256)  by  St.  Isabelle  of  France, 
sister  of  St.  Louis,  who  passed  the  rest  of  her  life  and  was 
buried  (1269)  within  its  walls.  The  sanctity  acquired  by 
the  abbey  from  the  miracles  wrought  at  her  tomb  called 
many  princesses  to  take  the  veil  there,  and  Philippe  le 
Long  died  (in  132 1)  whilst  he  was  the  guest  of  the  con- 
vent, of  which  his  daughter,  Blanche  de  France,  was  the 
abbess.     In  the  XVI.  c,  however,  Longchamp  began  to 


466 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


lose  its  saintly  reputation.  Henri  IV.  made  love  to  one 
of  its  nuns,  Catherine  de  Verdun,  and  in  1652  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  complained  bitterly  to  Cardinal  Mazarin  of  the 
irregularities  of  the  convent  and  the  luxury  of  its  sisters, 
ill  befitting  those  who  bore  the  name  of  "  Sœurs  mineures 
encloses  de  l'Humilité  Notre  Dame."  After  this,  Long- 
champ  fell  into  disrepute,  and  the  tomb  of  Isabelle  was 
deserted,  till  the  nuns  reconquered  their  popularity  by  the 
splendor  of  their  musical  services,  in  which  they  were 
greatly  aided  by  the  famous  opera-singer,  Mile  Le  Maure, 
who  took  the  veil  in  the  convent  in  1727.  From  that 
time  till  the  Revolution  all  the  most  distinguished  persons 
in  Paris  frequented  the  church,  and  the  "promenade  de 
Longchamp  "  became  an  established  fashion. 

The  Hippodrome  of  Longchamp  is  the  principal  race- 
course in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris.  The  Grand  Prix  of 
100,000  fr.  is  contended  for  in  the  beginning  of  June,  and 
answers  to  the  English  "  Derby." 

Near  the  Carrefour  de  Lo?igchamp  are  the  Grande 
Cascade  and  the  Mare  de  Longchamp^  fed  by  a  stream  from 
the  Mare  aux  Biches.  From  the  Carrefour,  the  Route  de  la 
Longue  Queue  leads  to  the  Porte  de  Madrid  by  the  Château 
de  Bagatelle,  occupying  the  site  of  a  villa  of  Mile  de 
Charolais  (daughter  of  Louis,  Prince  de  Condé),  whose 
fancy  for  being  painted  as  a  monk  drew  forth  the  lines  of 

Voltaire  ..  YxhxQ  Ange  de  Charolais, 

Dis-nous  par  quel  aventure 
Le  cordon  de  Saint  François 
Sert  à  Vénus  de  ceinture." 

Bagatelle  afterwards  became  the  property  of  the  Comte 
d'Artois,  brother  of  Louis  XVL,  who  laid  a  wager  with 
Marie  Antoniette  that  he  would  build  a  château  there  in 
the  space  of  a  month,  and  won  it,  inscribing  ''  Parva  sed 


LE  BOIS  DE   BOULOGNE 


467 


apta"  over  the  entrance.  Sold  at  the  Revolution,  Baga- 
telle was  afterwards  restored  to  the  Due  d'Artois,  who  gave 
it  to  the  Due  de  Berry,  who  often  resided  there.  It  now 
belongs  to  Sir  Richard  Wallace, 

Crossing  the  Allée  de  Longchamp,  by  the  cafe'-restaurant 
called  Pré  Catelan,  we  may  reach  the  Croix  Catelaii — a 
stone  pyramid  replacing  a  cross  raised  by  Philippe  le  Bel 
to  Arnauld  de  Catelan,  a  troubadour  from  Provence,  mur- 
dered, with  his  servant,  by  the  military  escort  which  the 
king  had  given  him,  because  they  fancied  that  the  chest  of 
liqueurs  which  he  was  taking  to  the  king  was  full  of  jewels  : 
the  murderers  were  burnt  alive. 

Towards  the  north  end  of  the  Bois  is  the  restaurant  of 
Madrid^  occupying  the  site  of  the  villa  which  François  I. 
built  on  the  model  of  that  in  which  he  lived  as  the  captive 
of  Charles  V.  Its  rich  decorations  of  plaques  of  Palissy- 
ware,  gave  it  the  name  of  Château  de  Faïence. 

"  Madrid  was  built  by  Francis  I.,  and  called  by  that  name  to 
absolve  him  of  his  oath  that  he  would  not  go  from  Madrid,  in 
which  he  was  prisoner  in  Spayne,  but  from  whence  he  made  his 
escape." — John  Evelyn,  1644. 

Here  François  I.  was  greatly  tempted  to  retaliate  for 
his  own  captivity  by  imprisoning  Charles  V.  during  his 
visit  to  France  in  1539. 

"  Triboulet,  le  bouffon  de  François  I',  avait  inscrit  le  nom  de 
Charles  V.  sur  son  Journal  des  fous,  où  il  se  plaisait  à  inscrire 
toutes  les  personnes  qui  commettaient  quelque  action  impru- 
dente, irréfléchie  ou  dangereuse.  Un  jour  que  ce  jovial  person- 
nage, dans  le  langage  approprié  à  sa  profession,  parlait  à  son 
maître  de  l'empereur,  '  Sire,' disait-il,  'votre  majesté  a  fait  bâtir 
le  château  de  Madrid  près  du  village  de  Boulogne  ;  pourquoi  ne 
prierait-elle  pas  messire  Charles  d'y  prendre  un  logement?  .  .  . 
Madrid  pour  Madrid,  la  difference  ne  serait  que  dans  le  fossé  qui 
entoure  le  château.'  '  Et  si  je  laisse  passer  l'empereur,'  répondit 
le  roi,  en  riant,  'que  feras-tu?'     'Ce  que  je  ferai,  sire?     Tenez, 


468  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

voilà  le  nom  de  Charles-quint  sur  mon  journal  des  fous  :  eh  bien, 
je  l'effacerai,  et  mettrai  le  vôtre  à  sa  place.'  " — Touc  hard- La  fosse, 
"  Hist,  de  Paris." 

It  was  at  Madrid  that  François  I.  first  caused  ladies  to 
become  a  necessary  part  of  his  Court,  because  "  une  cour 
sans  femmes  est  une  année  sans  printemps,  et  un  printemps 
sans  roses."  Henri  II.  and  Diane  de  Poitiers  frequently 
resided  at  Madrid.  Charles  IX.  was  here  with  Mlle  de 
Rouet,  daughter  of  Louis  de  la  Baraudière,  and  Henri  III. 
collected  a  menagerie  here,  and  settled  the  château  Madrid 
upon  his  sister  Marguerite,  first  wife  of  Henri  IV.,  who 
spent  much  of  her  last  years  there,  after  her  divorce. 
Louis  XVI.  ordered  the  demolition  of  the  château.  Its 
loss  is  more  to  be  regretted  than  that  of  any  building  of 
its  period,  for  it  was  as  elegant  as  it  was  palatial. 

To  the  left  lies  the  Jardin  d^ Acclimatation  (with  en- 
trances near  the  Porte  de  Sablons  and  Porte  de  Neuilly  : 
admission,  week-days  i  fr.,  Sundays  50  c),  pleasant  zoolog- 
ical gardens,  crowded  on  fine  Sundays,  when  elephants 
and  camels  laden  with  people  stalk  about  the  drives,  and 
children  are  driven  in  llama  and  even  in  ostrich  carts. 
The  collection  of  dogs  is  a  remarkable  one. 

Re-entering  Paris  by  the  Arc  de  Triomphe,  the  Rue  de 
l'Oratoire  (on  the  left  in  descending  the  Champs  Elysées) 
leads  to  the  Pare  Monceaux^  a  pretty  public  garden,  origi- 
nally planted  from  plans  of  Carmontel  for  Philippe  d'Or- 
léans (father  of  Louis  Philippe)  on  a  site  once  occupied 
by  the  village  of  Monceaux.  The  enormous  sums  which 
the  duke  spent  here  gave  the  place  the  name  of  "  folies  de 
Chartres." 

"J'en  atteste,  O  Monceaux,  tes  jardins  toujours  verts  ; 
Là,  des  arbres  absents  les  tiges  imitées, 
Les  magiques  berceaux,  les  grottes  enchantées. 
Tout  vous  charme  à  la  fois." — Delille. 


CHURCH   OF   ST.    AUGUSTIN  469 

Confiscated  at  the  Revolution,  Monceaux  was  given 
back  to  the  Orleans  family  by  Louis  XVIII. ,  and  was  in 
their  possession  till  the  decrees  of  1852.  It  is  now  one  of 
the  prettiest  gardens  in  Paris,  and  is  surrounded  by  hand- 
some houses.  The  artificial  pool  called  La  Naiunachie  is 
backed  by  a  colonnade  said  to  be  part  of  that  erected  by 
Catherine  de  Medicis  on  the  north  of  the  church  of  St. 
Denis,  to  receive  her  own  tomb  and  that  of  Henri  II. 

The  Boulevard  de  Monceaux  passes  over  the  site  of  the 
cemetery  where  the  saintly  Madame  Elizabeth  was  buried 
in  an  unmarked  grave,  with  all  the  aristocratic  victims  of 
the  Revolution  who  perished  with  her. 

All  the  streets  in  this  district  are  featureless  and  ugly. 
In  the  Boulevard  Malesherbes  (a  little  south)  is  the  great 
Church  of  St.  Augustin^  built  1860-68 — a  climax  of  vul- 
garity and  bad  taste,  in  which  the  use  of  cast  iron  has  its 
horrible  apotheosis. 

Almost  all  the  houses  in  this,  as  indeed  in  most  parts 
of  Paris,  are  let  in  apartments,  all  depending  upon  the 
same  all-important  individual,  the  concierge,  or  porter  at 
the  entrance,  upon  whose  character  much  of  the  comfort 
of  the  inmates  depends  ;  he  may  be  either  a  self-important 
and  arrogant  tyrant,  or  a  long-suffering  friend — the  civilest 
person  in  the  world,  who  will  say,  "Je  serai  toujours  aux 
ordres  de  monsieur,  à  minuit,  comme  à  midi." 

"  A  Paris,  chaque  maison  est  une  petite  ville  ;  chaque  étage, 
un  quartier.  Toutes  les  classes  de  la  société  s'y  résument  à  la 
fois. 

"  Le  portier  de  Paris  est  l'être  important  d'une  maison.  C'est 
le  ministre  du  propriétaire  ;  l'intermédiare  entre  ceux  qui  paient 
et  celui  qui  reçoit.  Il  écoute  les  plaintes,  et  les  transmet.  Il  est 
chargé  aussi  quelquefois,  et  par  circonstances  extraordinaires, 
d'être  le  juge  de  paix  de  la  maison."— /ac^w^j  Raphael. 

Returning  to  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  St.  Hoîioré,  and 


470  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

turning  eastwards,  we  pass,  on  the  left,  the  doric  Church 
of  St.  Philippe  du  Roule,  erected  (1769-84)  from  plans  of 
Chalgrin.  At  the  corner  of  the  Place  Beauveau  (right)  is 
the  Palais  du  V Elysée  Napoléon,  built  (17 18)  by  Molet  for 
the  Comte  d'Evreux.  It  was  inhabited  by  Mme  de  Pom- 
padour till  her  death,  and  afterwards  by  her  brother  the 
Marquis  de  Marigny,  from  whom  Louis  XV.  bought  it  as  a 
residence  for  Ambassadors  Extraordinary.  After  this  it 
was  the  residence  of  the  Duchesse  de  Bourbon-Condé,  till 
her  emigration  in  1790.  Confiscated  in  the  Revolution,  it 
was  sold  in  1803  to  Murat,  who  lived  in  it  (as  governor  of 
Paris  in  the  beginning  of  the  Empire)  till  he  left  France 
for  Naples  in  1808.  The  Elysée  was  a  favorite  residence 
with  Napoleon  I.,  who  slept  there  during  his  last  stay  in 
Paris  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  and  signed  his  abdica- 
tion there.  In  18 14-18 15  it  was  inhabited  by  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  and  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  Then,  at  the 
Restoration,  this  palace,  of  many  changes,  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Due  de  Berry,  who  inhabited  it,  under  the 
name  of  Palais  Elysée  Bourbon,  till  his  murder  (February 
13,  1820).  For  a  short  time  the  residence  of  the  Due  de 
Bourdeaux,  it  was  again  confiscated,  and  was  chosen  as 
a  residence  by  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  from  the  time  of  his 
proclamation  as  President  of  the  Republic  (December  20, 
1849),  continuing  to  be  his  dwelling  till  he  moved  to  the 
Tuileries,  after  the  proclamation  of  the  Second  Empire. 
In  the  Salle  du  Conseil  of  the  Elysée  he  prepared  the  Coup 
d'Etat  of  December  2,  185 1. 

Behind  the  palace  is  the  garden  where  Napoleon  I.  was 
walking  with  his  brother  Lucien  after  his  return  from 
Waterloo,  when — 

"The  avenue  of  Marigny  was  filled  with  a  numerous  crowd, 
attracted  by  the  fatal  news  of  the  disaster  of  Waterloo.     The  wall 


LA    CHAPELLE  EXPLATOLRE  4^1 

which  separated  the  garden  of  the  Elysée  from  the  avenue  was 
much  lower  than  to-day,  and  the  crowd  were  separated  from  Na- 
poleon by  a  barrier  that  amounted  to  almost  nothing.  On  seeing 
him  it  burst  into  frenzied  cries  of  *  V^ivc  V Empereur  !'  Many  men 
approached  the  garden  wall,  and  extended  their  hands  to  him, 
asking  to  be  led  against  the  enemy.  Napoleon  waved  a  salute, 
gave  them  a  sad  and  affectionate  look,  and  then  having  signed 
to  them  to  be  calm,  continued  his  walk  with  Lucien." — Thiers, 
''L'E?npire." 

To  the  east  of  the  Elysée  stood  the  (now  destroyed) 
Hôtel  Sebastiani,  which,  in  1847,  ^^^  ^^^  scene  of  the  ter- 
rific murder  of  the  Duchesse  de  Praslin  by  her  husband. 

The  Hotel  Fould  is  build  in  brick  and  stone,  in  the 
style  of  Louis  XII L  The  neighboring  Hôtel  Furtado  is 
handsome.  Th.Q  Hotel  de  Marbœuf  is  XVIII.  c.  No.  39 
Rue  du  Faubourg  St.  Honoré  is  the  Hôtel  Charost,  now  the 
British  Embassy.  It  was  formerly  the  residence  of  Pauline 
Bonaparte,  Princesse  Borghese,  who  here  gave  herself 
those  airs  of  self-assertion  which  caused  her  brother  the 
emperor  to  say,  "  Ces  coquines-là  croient  que  je  les  ai 
privé  du  bien  du  feu  roi  notre  père."  Much  furniture  still 
remains  of  her  time,  and  the  bed  which  once  belonged  to 
the  prettiest  woman  of  France  is  now  occupied  by  the 
British  ambassador.  The  garden  of  this  and  other  stately 
mansions  which  line  the  Champs  Elysees  embalm  the  air 
in  spring  with  the  scent  of  their  lilacs. 

"Ces  premiers  pousses  de  lilas,  fête  printanière  qui  n'est 
savourée  dans  toute  son  étendue  qu'à  Paris,  où,  durant  six  mois, 
les  Parisiens  ont  vécu  dans  l'oubli  de  la  végétation,  entre  les 
falaises  de  pierre  où  s'agite  leur  océan  humain." — Balzac,  "  La 
Cousine  Bette." 

On  the  left  the  Rue  d'Anjou  St.  Honoré  turns  north, 
containing  (right)  the  Chapelle  Expiatoire  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  cemetery  (belonging  to  the  Madeleine)  where 
Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoniette  were  buried  in  1793. 


4^2  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

•'  On  the  20th  of  January,  1793,  the  executive  power  charged 
M.  Pécavez,  curé  of  the  parish  of  the  Madeleine,  to  see  to  the 
execution  of  their  orders  respecting  the  obsequies  of  Louis  XVI. 
M.  Pécavez,  not  feeling  himself  possessed  of  the  courage  neces- 
sary to  discharge  such  a  painful  and  sad  duty,  feigned  illness, 
and  employed  me  as  his  first  assistant  to  take  his  place,  and  to 
watch,  on  my  own  responsibility,  over  the  strict  execution  of  the 
orders  given  by  the  executive  power. 

"When  we  arrived  at  the  cemetery  I  enjoined  the  strictest 
silence.  The  body  of  his  Majesty  was  delivered  to  us  ;  he  was 
dressed  in  a  vest  of  white  piqué,  gray  silk  breeches  and  stock- 
ings to  match.  We  sang  vespers,  and  recited  all  the  prayers 
customary  at  the  service  for  the  dead,  and,  I  must  speak  the 
truth,  all  this  same  populace  which  had  just  been  rending  the  air 
with  its  shouts,  listened  with  the  most  religious  silence  to  the 
prayers  offered  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  his  Majesty." — Dépo- 
sition de  M.  Renard,  le  20  Janvier,  181 5,  devant  le  chevalier  d' Am- 
bray,  chancelier  de  France. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  i6th  October,  a  man,  having  finished 
his  day's  work,  wrote  out  this,  which  the  hands  of  history  cannot 
touch  without  a  shudder  : 

"  '  Memorandum  of  expenses  and  interments,  by  Joly,  grave- 
digger  of  the  Madeleine  de  la  Ville  l'Evêque,  for  the  persons  put 
to  death  by  the  judgment  of  the  said  tribunal  : 

"  '  That  is  to  say 

ist  month  .  .  . 
25th  ditto. 
The  Widow  Capet.     For  the  bier,  6  livres. 
For  the  grave  and  the  diggers,  25.'  " 

Concourt,  ''Hist,  de  Marie  Antoinette'' 

The  ground  was  afterwards  bought  by  a  M.  Desclo- 
seaux,  who  planted  it  as  an  orchard,  to  preserve  the  royal 
graves  from  insult  during  the  Revolution.  At  the  Resto- 
ration, the  orchard  was  purchased  by  the  royal  family,  and 
the  royal  remains  transported  with  great  pomp  to  St. 
Denis.  The  remains  of  the  other  victims  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, including  the  Swiss  guard  buried  here,  were  collected 
into  two  large  graves,  and,  at  the  instigation  of  Chateau- 
briand, the  Chapelle  Expiatoire  was  built  by  Louis  XVIII. 


LA    MADELEINE  473 

It  contains  statues  of  the  king  and  queen,  his  will  being 
inscribed  on  the  pedestal  of  that  of  Louis,  and  portions  of 
her  last  touching  letter  to  Madame  Elizabeth  on  that  of 
Marie  Antoinette.  A  group  by  François  Joseph  Bosio 
(1769-1845),  one  of  the  best  of  the  modern  classic  French 
sculptors,  represents  Louis  XVL  sustained  by  an  angel  ; 
and  a  group  by  Jean  Pierre  Cortot  (i 787-1843)  represents 
Marie  Antoinette  supported  by  Religion.  Though  well- 
conceived,  neither  is  successful. 

The  Rue  de  la  Madeleine  will  now  lead  us  to  the  great 
Church  of  the  Madeleine — resembling  a  magnificent  pagan 
temple — which  has  frequently  changed  its  destination.  It 
was  begun  (1764)  under  Louis  XV.  as  a  church,  from  de- 
signs of  Constant  dTvry,  whose  plans  were  thrown  aside 
by  his  successor  Couture  (1777).  The  work  was  stopped 
by  the  Revolution,  and  taken  up  again  in  consequence  of 
a  decree  issued  from  Posen  in  1806  by  Napoleon  I.,  who 
ordered  Pierre  Vignon  to  finish  the  building  as  a  Greek 
Temple  of  Victory — "  le  temple  de  la  Gloire,"  in  honor  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army.  But  the  Restoration 
changed  everything,  and  the  building  was  given  back  to 
its  first  destination,  though  the  plan  was  unaltered,  and  the 
church  was  finished  under  Louis  Philippe  in  1832. 

"  An  imitation  of  the  Parthenon,  grand  and  beautiful,  what- 
ever may  be  said,  but  spoiled  by  the  infamous  coffee-house  sculpt- 
ures that  dishonor  the  lateral  friezes." — Balzac. 

"  That  noble  type  is  realized  again 

In  perfect  forms  and  dedicate — to  whom  ? 
To  a  poor  Syrian  girl  of  lowest  name — 
A  hapless  creature,  pitiful  and  frail 
As  ever  wore  her  life  in  sin  and  shame  !  " 

J^.  M.  Milnes. 

"  Glorious  and  gorgeous  is  the  Madeleine.  The  entrance  to 
the  nave  is  beneath  a  most  stately  arch  ;  and  three  arches  of  equal 


474  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

height  open  from  the  nave  to  the  side  aisles  ;  and  at  the  end  of' 
the  nave  is  another  great  arch,  rising,  with  a  vaulted  half-dome, 
over  the  high-altar.  The  pillars  supporting  these  arches  are 
Corinthian,  with  richly  sculptured  capitals  :  and  wherever  gilding 
might  adorn  the  church,  it  is  lavished  like  sunshine  ;  and  within 
the  sweeps  of  the  arches  there  are  fresco  paintings  of  sacred  sub- 
jects, and  a  beautiful  picture  covers  the  hollow  of  the  vault  over 
the  altar  :  all  this,  besides  much  sculpture,  and  especially  a  group 
above  and  around  the  high-altar,  representing  the  Magdalen, 
smiling  down  upon  angels  and  archangels,  some  of  whom  are 
kneeling,  and  shadowing  themselves  with  their  heavy  marble 
wings." — Hawthorne,  "  Note-Books.'' 

The  interior  (only  open  to  visitors  after  i,  when  the 
morning  services  are  over)  contains,  under  the  first  pillar — 

R.  Monument  to  the  Curé  Deguerry,  murdered  at  La  Ro- 
quette by  the  Communists,  May  24,  1871 — "mort  pour  la  foi  et 
la  justice."     He  is  buried  in  the  crypt. 

High-altar.     Marochetti  :  Assumption  of  the  Magdalen. 

Behind  the  Madeleine,  a  very  pretty  and  popular ^ower- 
market  is  held  on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays. 

It  was  in  the  Rue  Royale,  which  leads  from  the  Made- 
leine to  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  that  132  lives  were  lost 
in  the  terrible  accident  which  took  place  during  the  festivi- 
ties upon  the  marriage  of  the  Dauphin  and  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, May  30,  1774. 

Here  the  barricade  erected  by  the  Communists  in  May, 
187 1,  offered  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  troops  which  entered 
Paris  from  Versailles  on  the  21st,  and  was  only  taken  after 
great  slaughter. 

Behind  the  Madeleine,  in  the  Rue  Tronchet,  is  the  mag- 
nificent modern  Hotel  Pourtales^  by  Duban. 


CHAPTER  X. 

INDUSTRIOUS  MODERN  PARIS. 

The  Boulevards.  The  quarters  of  Montmartre,  La  Villette,  and 
Belleville.  The  Bourse.  The  Bibliothèque  Nationale,  The 
Place  des  Victoires,  Batik,  and  Palais  Royal. 

WE  now  enter  the  Boulevards,  which  have  only  really 
existed  since  the  Revolution.  Paris  now  pos- 
sesses an  endless  number  of  Boulevards,  but  when  the 
Boulevard  is  spoken  of,  it  means  the  Boulevard  from  the 
Madeleine  to  the  site  of  the  Bastille,  in  its  different  and 
varied  divisions. 

"  Oxford  Street  gives  one  aspect  of  London,  Regent  Street 
another,  the  Strand  another  ;  but  the  Boulevards,  running  directly 
through  Paris,  display  the  character  of  the  town  in  all  its  dis- 
tricts, and  the  character  of  its  inhabitants  in  all  their  classes."— 
Henry  Lytton  Bulwer. 

The  paved  walks  at  the  sides  of  the  Boulevard  are 
lined  with  trees,  between  which,  at  intervals,  are  kiosques. 

Following  the  Boulevard  de  la  Madeleine,  and  the  Bou- 
levarde  des  Capuchies,  we  reach,  facing  the  entrance  to  the 
Rue  de  la  Paix,  the  magnificent  Opera,  built  from  designs 
of  Charles  Gamier  (1861-1875),  and  adorned  with  busts 
of  great  composers  and  musicians.  The  marble  staircase 
is  magnificent.  (It  can  be  visited  on  Sundays  from  12  to  2.) 
Four  great  balls  are  given  at  the  Opera  House  during  the 


476  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Carnival.  (Entrance:  gentlemen,  20  frs.,  ladies,  10  frs.)- 
The  first  opera  house  in  Paris  was  opened  in  167 1  ;  but 
the  first  opera  was  the  tragedy  of  Orphée,  by  Jodelle, 
acted  with  dancing  and  singing  on  the  marriage  of  Fran- 
çois IL  and  Mary  Stuart.^  The  next  opera  we  hear  of  is 
Le  Ballet  comique  de  la  Royne,  given  on  the  occasion  of  the 
marriage  of  the  Due  de  Joyeuse,  favorite  of  Henri  III. 
The  establishment  of  the  opera  in  France  was  due, 
strangely  enough,  to  the  persistent  efforts  of  a  cardinal — 
Mazarin. 

"C'est  à  deux  cardinaux  (Richelieu  et  Mazarin)  que  la  tragé- 
die et  l'opéra  doivent  leur  établissement  en  France." — Voltaire. 

Women  first  appeared  as  dancers  in  a  ballet  in  1681. 

Before  that  time  their  places  were  filled  by  men  disguised. 

"  II  faut  se  rendre  à  ce  palais  magique, 
Où  les  beaux  vers,  la  danse,  la  musique. 
L'art  de  charmer  les  yeux  par  les  couleurs, 
L'art  plus  heureux  de  séduire  les  cœurs. 
De  cent  plaisirs  font  un  plaisir  unique." — Voltaire. 

On  the  east  of  the  Opéra,  the  Rue  Chaussée  d^Aiitin 
(formerly  Chemin  de  l'Hôtel  Dieu,  because  it  was  on  land 
belonging  to  the  hospital)  leads  to  the  large  mongrel 
Church  of  La  Trinité,  whence  the  steep  Rue  de  Clichy 
ascends  to  the  suburb  of  Batignolles.  All  this  part  of 
Paris  is  indescribably  ugly  and  featureless. 

On  the  right,  at  the  entrance  of  Rue  Louis  le  Grand 

(No.    30),  on  the   south  of  the  boulevard,   is  the  quaint 

and    picturesque    Pavillo?i  d'Hanovre,    built   by  Chevotet 

for   the    marshal-duke,    with   money   accumulated   in    the 

Hanoverian  war,  and  long  regarded  and  looked  upon  as  a 

model  of  such  small  houses  in  the  XVIII.  c. 

"  The  reaction  of  1795  led  to  the  '  Ball  of  the  Victims  '  at  the 
pavilion  of  Hanover.     They  were  balls  to  which  no  one  was  ad- 

*  See  Brantôme  and  Les  Chroniques  dg  F  Opéra. 


PA  VIL  LON  D'il  A  NO  VRE 


477 


mitted  but  by  proving  connection  with  one  of  the  countless 
families  decimated  by  the  Terror,  and,  difficult  as  it  is  to  believe 
without  having  seen  it,  the  toilets  of  the  women  recalled  some- 
what the  bloody  apparatus  of  the  scaffold."— iV^^zVr,  Régnier,  and 
Champin,  "  Paris  historique  y 

No.  33  Rue  Louis  le  Grand  was  built  by  the  Maréchal 
de  Richelieu  in  1760.     No.  9  has   two  fountains,  brought 


FONTAINE    GAILLON. 


from  the  house  of  M.  d'Etoiles  in  the  Rue  du  Sentier,  and 
an  admirable  balustrade  from  the  Hôtel  de  Boulainvilliers, 
in  the  Rue  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires.  The  painter  Ri- 
gaud  lived  and  worked  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Louis  le 
Grand  and  the  Rue  Neuve  des  Petits  Champs. 

The  Rue  de  la  Michodiere  (called  after  a  Prévôt   des 


478  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Marchands  in  1777)  leads  to  the  Carrefour  Gaillon,  with' 
an  admirable  fountain  erected  (1828)  from  designs  of  Vis- 
conti.  The  Rue  des  Moulins,  which  opens  just  beyond  on 
the  left,  contains  the  house  (No.  14)  of  the  well-known 
Abbé  de  I'Epe'e  (Charles  Michel  de  l'Epée,  1712-89),  the 
friend  of  the  deaf  and  dumb.  The  poet  Piron  lived  and 
died  in  this  street. 

The  Boulevard  des  Italiens,  the  gayest  street  in  modern 
Paris,  leads  eastwards. 

"Sur  le  boulevard  passent  des  Anglaises  longues  et  angu- 
leuses, des  Havanas  jaunes,  des  Espagnols  basanés,  des  Ita- 
liennes au  teint  mat,  des  Valaques  rose-thé,  des  Allemandes 
sentimentales  mais  dodues,  des  Russes  élégantes  mais  déhan- 
chées. Le  marchant  de  puros  de  la  Vuelta  de  Abayo,  aux  bijoux 
massifs  et  au  chapeau  à  large  bord,  coudoie  le  Hongrois  en 
bottes  à  la  Souvacow,  et  l'ingénieur  de  New-York,  à  la  longue 
barbiche,  passe-affairé,  cachant  sous  son  vêtement  un  revolver  et 
un  projet  de  canon  monstre." — C.    Yriarte. 

This  Boulevard  is  almost  exclusively  lined  by  hotels 
and  cafés,  the  most  celebrated  being  (left).  No.  16,  Café 
Riche,  and  No.  20,  Maison  Dorée.  Lines  of  men  are 
always  seated  in  front  of  them  in  fine  weather. 

"The  persons  who  are  there,  everyday,  seated  on  chairs, 
surrendering  themselves  to  the  pleasure  of  analyzing  the  passers- 
by,  with  that  smile,  peculiar  to  the  Parisians,  and  which  ex- 
presses so  much  of  irony,  mockery  or  compassion." — Balzac, 
"  Le  Cousin  Pons." 

"  At  seven  in  the  morning,  not  a  footstep  sounds  on  the  flags, 
not  a  carriage  rolls  over  the  street.  The  Boulevard  awakens 
about  half-past  eight,  with  the  noise  of  some  cabs,  beneath  the 
heavy  tread  of  some  porters  with  their  loads,  to  the  cries  of  some 
workmen  in  blouses  going  to  their  shops.  Not  a  single  Venetian 
blind  moves  ;  the  stores  are  as  tight  shut  up  as  oysters.  This  is  a 
sight,  unknown  to  many  Parisians,  who  believe  the  Boulevard  is 
always  in  full  dress,  just  as  they  believe,  with  their  favorite  critic, 
that  lobsters  are  alwa)^s  red.  At  nine,  the  Boulevard  washes 
its  feet  all  along  the  line,  the  shops  open  their  eyes  and  display 


RUE  LAFFITTE 


479 


inside  a  frightful  disorder.  Some  minutes  afterwards,  it  is  as 
busy  as  a  grisette,  and  some  second-class  intriguers  mark  its 
footwalks.  About  eleven,  there  are  cabs  hurrying  after  lawsuits 
or  payments,  attorneys  and  notaries,  carrying  bankruptcies  in 
bud,  junior  share-brokers,  compromises,  intrigues  with  pensive 
faces,  successes  with  buttoned-up  overcoats,  tailors,  shirtmakers, 
the  whole  early  business  world  of  Paris.  The  Boulevard  is 
hungry  towards  noon,  it  has  breakfast  ;  the  Stock  Exchange  men 
arrive.  Then,  from  two  to  five  o'clock,  its  life  attains  its  apogée, 
and  gives  its  great  performance  gratis.  Its  three  thousand  shops 
glitter,  and  the  great  poem  of  window-dressing  sings  its  song  of 
a  thousand  colors,  from  the  Madeleine  to  the  Porte  St.  Denis. 
Passengers,  who  are  artists  without  knowing  it,  play  for  you  the 
part  of  the  chorus  in  ancient  tragedy  ;  they  laugh,  make  love, 
shed  tears,  smile  and  think  deeply.  They  come  like  shadows  or 
will-o'-the-wisps.  .  .  .  One  cannot  do  two  boulevards  without 
meeting  a  friend  or  an  enemy,  an  original  who  causes  a  smile  or 
a  thought,  a  pauper  who  begs  a  penny,  a  dramatist  looking  for  a 
subject — all  in  want,  but  one  richer  than  the  other.  Here  you  ob- 
serve the  comedy  of  dress.  So  many  men,  so  many  different 
dresses  ;  so  many  dresses,  so  many  characters.  In  fine  days,  the 
women  show  themselves,  but  not  in  full  toilets.  Full  toilets  to- 
day go  to  the  avenue  of  the  Champs  Elysées,  or  the  Bois.  Re- 
spectable women  who  walk  on  the  Boulevard  have  only  their 
whims  to  gratify  or  amuse  themselves  by  shopping  ;  they  pass 
quickly  and  recognize  no  one." — Balzac,  "  Esquisses  parisiennes." 

On  the  right  the  Rue  de  Grammo?it  is  pierced  across 
the  site  of  the  magnificent  Hôtel  Crozat,  which  had  beau- 
tiful gardens  and  terraces.  ^ 

On  the  left  opens  the  Rue  Laffitte,  named  from  the 
great  banker,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fortune  by 
attracting  the  attention  of  his  master  through  his  careful- 
ness in  picking  up  a  pin.  At  the  end  of  this  street  is  the 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette^  built  (1823-36)  from 
designs  of  Le  Bas.  The  interior  is  very  richly  decorated 
by  modern  French  artists,  especially  Orsel,  Perrin,  and 
Roger. 

^  Germain  Brice,  Description  de  Paris,  i.  378. 


480  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

"  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette  a  la  réputation  d'être  la  plus  riche' 
et  en  même  temps  la  plus  coquette  église  de  Paris  ;  on  a  dit 
d'elle  que  c'était  un  botidoir  religieux.  Mais  cette  petite  église  ne 
mériterait  pas  une  mention  apart,  si  elle  ne  devait  au  luxe  de  ses 
décorations  intérieures  une  espèce  de  réputation,  et  si  ce  lieu  qui 
devait  être  si  saint,  n'avait  été  et  n'était  encore  une  cause  de 
scandale  pour  bien  des  âmes  pieuses." — Le  Bas. 

The  church  occupies  the  site  of  the  Marché  aux  Pour- 
ceaux, where  Jeanne  de  l'Epine  was  burnt  alive  in  1430 
for  personating  Jeanne  Dare. 

"This  spot  was  the  Marché  aux  Pourceaux.  Here,  in  the 
name  of  those  princes  who,  among  other  monetary  tricks,  in- 
vented the  tournois  noir,  who,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  found  the 
means,  in  the  space  of  fifty  years,  of  making  bankrupt  the  public 
treasury  seven  times  in  succession,  a  royal  phenomenon  renewed 
under  Louis  XV.  ;  in  the  name  of  Philip  I.,  who  declared  bits  of 
brass  were  money  ;  in  the  name  of  Louis  VL  and  Louis  VIL, 
who  constrained  all  Frenchmen,  except  the  townsfolk  of  Com- 
piègne,  to  take  sous  for  livres  ;  in  the  name  of  Philippe  le  Bel, 
who  made  gold  angevins  of  doubtful  value,  called  '  long-wooled 
sheep'  and  '  short-wooled  sheep;'  in  the  name  of  Philip  of 
Valois,  who  debased  the  Georges  florin  ;  in  the  name  of  King 
John,  who  raised  leather  disks  with  a  silver  stud  in  the  middle 
to  the  dignity  of  gold  ducats  ;  in  the  name  of  Charles  VIL,  the 
gilder  and  plaiter  of  farthings,  which  he  styled  sahits  d'or  and 
blancs  d'argents  ;  in  the  name  of  Louis  XL,  who  decreed  that  a 
penny  should  be  worth  three  ;  in  the  name  of  Henry  IL,  who 
made  Gold  Henrys  of  lead  ;  here,  for  five  centuries,  coiners  of 
false  money  were  boiled  alive  in  an  iron  boiler." —  Victor  Hugo. 

In  the  Rue  de  Châfeaudun,  which  passes  in  front  of  the 
church,  is  Notre  Dame  des  Blancs  Manteaux,  named  from 
monks  who  called  themselves  "  serfs  de  la  Sainte  Vierge." 
The  convent  is  now  appropriated  to  the  Mont-de-piété. 

The  Rue  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette  leads  from  the  Church 
of  Lorette  to  the  new  quarter  known  as  La  Nouvelle 
Athènes.  In  the  Place  St.  Georges,  decorated  with  a 
fountain,  No.  37  was  the  residence  of  M.  Thiers,  destroyed 


MONTMA  R  TRE  48 1 

during  the  Commune,  and  rebuilt  at  the  expense  of  the 
State. 

Hence  the  Rue  Fontaine  leads  to  the  Boulevard  de 
Clichy^  close  to  which  is  the  Cimetière  Montmartre^  formerly 
called  "  Le  Champ  de  Repos."  This  is  less  hideous  than 
Père  Lachaise,  and,  though  it  has  the  same  characteristics 
of  heavy  masses  of  stone,  or  little  chapels  piled  upon  the 
dead  and  hung  with  wreaths  of  beads,  they  are  more 
divided  by  trees.  At  the  end  of  the  short  main  avenue, 
on  the  left,  is  a  bronze  statue  of  Godefroy  Cavaignac,  by 
François  Rude  (i 785-1855),  marking  the  tomb  of  the 
Cavaignac  family,  of  whom  the  most  illustrious  member 
was  Eugène,  head  of  the  executive  power  in  1848. 

"  The  body  is' represented  in  rude  reahty,  the  head  with  its 
wild,  rough  hair  thrown  stiffly  back,  the  arms  and  hands  extended, 
the  neck,  breast,  and  shoulders  bare.  The  rest  of  the  body  is 
covered  by  the  grave-cloth,  in  large  well  arranged  masses.  The 
execution,  as  is  always  the  case  in  Rude's  works,  is  very  able." — 
Lubke. 

Amongst  other  remarkable  tombs,  behind  the  cross- 
ways,  are  those  of  General  Bazaine  and  the  Comte  de 
Se'gur  d'Aguesseau.  Near  these,  on  the  edge  of  the 
Avenue  du  Buisson,  are  the  tombs  of  Ponson  du  Terrail 
and  Henry  Boyle  (Stendhal). 

To  the  left  of  the  crossways,  a  long  avenue  leads  to 
the  tombs  of  Caussidière,  General  Travot,  De  Bougain- 
ville, and  Mme  de  Girardin.  Returning  from  these  tombs, 
and  taking  the  first  avenue  on  the  left,  we  reach,  on  a 
terrace,  an  obelisk  to  the  memory  of  the  Duchesse  de 
Montmorency  (1829).  Near  this  is  the  monument  of 
Prince  Ernest  of  Saxe-Coburg  (1832).  The  Avenue  de 
Montmorency  leads  to  that  of  Montebello,  where  a  statue 
by   Franceschi   marks   the  tomb  of  Micislas  Kamienski 


482  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

(killed  in  the  service  of  France  at  Magenta),  of  Paul 
Delaroche,  and  of  Marshal  Lannes  (only  his  heart  being 
here,  his  body  at  the  Pantheon).  To  the  east  of  this 
avenue  is  the  Jewish  Cemetery^  with  its  own  walls,  to  the 
south  of  which,  in  the  Avenue  Cordier,  are  the  tombs  of 
Henri  Murger  (1861)  and  Théophile  Gautier  (1873). 
On  the  side  of  the  Avenue  de  la  Cloche  are  the  tombs  of 
Armand  Marrast,  president  of  the  National  Assembly 
(1852),  of  Heinrich  Heine  (1856),  of  Greuze,  and  of  Carl 
Vernet.  In  another  part  of  the  cemetery  a  medallion 
by  David  d'Angers  marks  the  tomb  of  the  Duchesse 
d'Abrantès,  wife  of  Marshal  Junot  (1838). 

The  name  of  Montmartre  is  usually  derived  from  Mons 
Martyrum,  because  St.  Denis,  Bishop  of  Paris  in  the  III.  c, 
and  his  companions,  Rusticus  and  Eleutherius,  were  be- 
headed at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  "  afterwards  the  body  of 
Dionysius  rose  upon  its  feet,  and  taking  up  its  head  in  its 
hands,  walked  up  the  hill,  angels  singing  hymns  by  the 
way,"  to  the  spot  where  St.  Geneviève  raised  a  church  to 
their  honor.  Hence,  in  the  reign  of  Dagobert,  the  relics 
of  St.  Denis  were  removed  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis. 
The  Chapelle  des  Martyrs  at  Montmartre,  visible  in  the 
XVII.  c,  has  now  disappeared.  It  was  interesting  as  the 
place  where  Ignatius  Loyola  pronounced  his  first  vows 
with  nine  of  his  companions  (August  15,  1534).  Every 
army  which  has  attacked  Paris  has  in  turn  occupied  the 
heights  of  Montmartre.  They  were  abandoned  by  Joseph 
Bonaparte  and  occupied  by  Blucher  in  18 14.  It  was 
there  that  the  Communist  insurrection  of  187 1  was  begun. 

From  the  Boulevard  Rochechouart,  the  Rue  Lepic 
leads  up  to  the  Butte  Montmartre,  with  the  remaining 
Mills  of  Montmartre — weather-worn,  blackened,  and  pictur- 
esque.    An  obelisk  near  the  Moulin  Debray  marks  the 


MON  TMA  R  TK  E  483 

boundaries  of  Paris.  From  the  terrace  of  the  Rue 
Lamarck  there  is  a  splendid  view  over  the  town.  A  waste 
of  grey  houses  reaches  ahnost  to  the  horizon,  only  those 
nearest  catch  a  few  red  and  yellow  tones,  and  are  very 
scantily  interspersed  with  green.  For  a  panorama  so  vast 
it  wants  central  points  of  interest,  such  as  St.  Paul's  and 


MILLS   OF   MONTMARTRE. 


Westminster  supply  to  views  of  London— the  Pantheon, 
St.  Sulpice,  and  the  Invalides,  the  most  prominent  objects 
here,  are  not  large  enough.  Still,  it  is  a  very  remarkable 
view,  and  one  which  no  visitor  to  Paris  should  miss  see- 
ing.i     It  is  difficult  to  believe  that,  as  late  as  the  time  of 

»  It  is  easily  reached  by  omnibus  from  the  Bourse  to  the  Place  Pigalle, 
below  the  hill. 


484 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


Henri  II.,  there  were  so  few  buildings  between  the  Louvre' 
and  Montmartre,  that  when  a  fire  broke  out  (1559)  in  the 
dormitory  of  the  abbey  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  the  king, 
walking  in  the  gallery  of  the  palace,  was  one  of  the  first  to 
perceive  it  and  send  assistance.  Now,  every  house  in 
Montmartre  might  be  burnt  without  any  one  in  the  Louvre 
being  the  wiser. 

A  great  church — the  Eglise  du  Sacré  Cœur^  from  de- 
signs of  Abadie — is  in  progress  on  the  highest  summit  of 
Montmartre,  where  temples  of  Mars  and  Mercury  are  sup- 
posed to  have  stood. 

The  famous  quarries  of  Montmartre  (whence  the  gyp- 
sum called  plaster  of  Paris  was  derived),  now  closed,  are 
on  the  north-west  of  the  hill.  On  the  south  and  east  of 
the  hill  are  several  dancing-gardens  :  that  of  the  Château 
Rouge  has  a  house  which  a  local  legend  affirms  to  have 
been  built  by  Henri  IV.  for  Gabrielle  d'Estrees.  Its 
name  comes  from  the  red  bricks  with  which  it  is  partially 
constructed. 

The  Church  of  St.  Pierre  de  Mo?itmartre  (in  the  Rue  St. 
Denis  à  Montmartre)  was  built  in  the  XII.  c.  by  Louis  VI. 
(le  Gros)  and  his  queen,  Alix  of  Savoy,  and  consecrated 
by  Pope  Eugenius  III.  in  the  presence  of  St.  Bernard. and 
Peter  the  Venerable.  The  church,  in  which  Queen  Alix 
and  many  abbesses  were  buried,  now  completely  modern- 
ized, served  as  a  chapel  to  the  Benedictine  convent,  also 
founded  by  Louis  VI.,  and  rebuilt  by  Louis  XIV.  The 
Calvary  of  the  later  convent  remains  in  the  garden,  with  a 
Holy  Sepulchre,  containing  a  much  revered  figure  of 
Christ  au  tombeau  ;  a  good  XII.  c.  tomb  of  an  abbess, 
with  her  engraved  effigy  ;  and  the  chœur  aux  darnes^  re- 
served for  the  nuns.  The  tomb  of  Queen  Alix  perished  in 
the  Revolution.    This  convent  was  royal,  /.  ^.,  its  abbesses 


RUE  DE  LA    FON  TEN  ELLE  485 

were  appointed  by  the  king,  not  elected  by  the  nuns. 
Marie  de  Beauvilh'ers,  the  nun  carried  off  by  Henri  IV., 
described  in  the  Amour  Philosophe — 

.     .     .     .      "  Son  habit  blanc. 
Son  scapulaire, — et  le  rang 
Qu'elle  tient  dans  son  cloître" — 

was  afterwards  appointed  abbess  by  the  king  and  devoted 
her  latter  days  to  the  reformation  of  the  abbey. 

The  abbess  and  the  nuns  of  Montmartre  were  amongst 
the  most  commiserated  victims  of  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

"  Carts  carried  to  execution  all  the  nuns  of  the  Abbey  of 
Montmartre.  The  abbess  was  Mme  de  Montmorency.  These 
poor  women  of  all  ages,  from  tender  youth  to  white  hairs,  placed 
as  children  in  convents,  had  no  crime  except  the  will  of  their 
parents  and  fidelity  to  their  vows.  Grouped  around  their  abbess, 
they  intoned  with  their  feminine  voices  the  sacred  chants  as  they 
mounted  the  carts,  and  sang  them  in  chorus  to  the  scaffold.  As 
the  Girondins  sang  their  own  death-hymn,  so  these  women  sang, 
to  the  last  voice,  the  hymn  of  their  martyrdom.  These  voices 
troubled,  like  remorse,  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Childhood, 
beauty,  piety,  slain  all  at  once,  compelled  the  multitude  to  turn 
aside  their  eyes." — Lamartine,  "'LList.  des  Girondins." 

In  the  Rue  des  Rosiers,  now  merged  into  the  Rue  de 
la  Fonteîielle,  in  a  private  house,  the  first  two  victims  of  the 
Commune — Generals  Lecomte  and  Clément-Thomas,  were 
brutally  murdered,  March  18,  187 1.  A  monument  in  Père 
Lachaise  has  been  erected  to  their  memory  by  the  city  of 
Paris. 

"  General  Lecomte  was  killed  at  once  ;  then  they  fired  at  his 
corpse.  As  for  Clément  Thomas,  it  was  a  piteous  sight  ;  he 
walked  backwards,  holding  his  hat  in  his  left  hand  and  shelter- 
ing his  face  by  his  right  arm  ;  the  blood  flowed  down  his  breast  ; 
at  times  he  dropped  his  arm  and  cried  to  his  murderers,  '  Cow- 
ards, blackguards,  scoundrels,  you  murder  the  Republic  for 
which  I  have  suffered  so  much  !  '     At  last  he  fell,  and  they  con- 


486  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

tinued  to  fire  at  him  ;  he  received  more  than  a  hundred  shots  ; 
even  the  soles  of  his  feet  were  pierced." — Maxime  Ducajup. 

Returning  to  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens  we  find, 
opening  on  the  left,  the  ^ue  le  Peletier^  famous  for  the 
attempt  of  Orsini  to  murder  Napoleon  III.,  January  14, 
1858. 

At  the  end  of  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens  the  Rue 
Drouotxuns  north.  Here  the  Mairie  of  the  IX*"  Arrondis- 
sement occupies  the  old  Hôtel  Aguado.  On  the  left  is  the 
Hotel  des  Ventes  Mobilières,  the  Christie  and  Hanson's  of 
Paris. 

In  the  Rue  Montmartre,  which  falls  into  the  Boulevard 
on  the  right,  was  the  Cimetière  St.  Joseph,  where  Molière 
was  buried  (in  1732),  and  where,  in  severe  winters,  his 
widow  lighted  a  huge  fire  upon  his  grave,  that  the  poor 
might  warm  themselves  there. 

The  Boulevards  called  Montmartre,  Poissonnière,  and 
Bonne  Nouvelle  continue  the  line  of  the  Boulevard  des 
Italiens.  In  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Poissonnière,  on  the 
north,  is  the  Conservatoire  de  Musique  et  de  Déclamation, 
founded  (1784)  for  the  training  of  singers  and  actors. 
Those  who  win  its  Grand  Prix  obtain  an  allowance  of 
3000  frs.  for  four  years,  that  they  may  visit  Italy.  The 
interesting  Collection  of  Musical  Bistruments  is  shown  on 
Mondays  and  Thursdays  from  12  to  4. 

The  Rue  Hauteville  now  leads  north  from  the  Boule- 
vard to  the  Place  Lafayette  and  the  Church  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  built  (1824-44)  i^om  designs  of  Lepère  and  Hittorf. 
It  is  decorated  internally  with  a  frieze,  by  Hippolyte 
Flandrin,  representing  a  procession  of  saints  towards  the 
Saviour,  in  imitation  of  those  at  St.  Apollinare  Nuovo  at 
Ravenna.  The  figures  on  the  stalls  (mutilated  in  1848, 
and  restored)  represent  the  patron  saints  of  the  house  of 


RUE  DR   LA    GRANGE-BATELIÈRE  487 

Orleans.  The  admirable  modem  glass  is  by  Maréchal 
and  Giiyon. 

A  little  north  of  St.  Vincent  is  the  great  railway  station 
of  the  Chemin  de  Fer  du  No?'d,  and  a  little  east  that  of  the 
Chemin  de  Fer  de  l'Est.  Behind  the  Gare  du  Nord,  at  the 
end  of  the  Rue  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  is  the  Hôpital  Lari- 
boisiere,  erected  (1849-53)  by  a  bequest  from  the  Comtesse 
Lariboisière,  who  is  buried  in  the  chapel,  with  a  monument 
by  Marochetti. 

On  the  right  of  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Montmartre,  which 
leads  (left)  from  the  Boulevard,  is  the  Rue  Geoffroy-Marie, 
a  last  reminiscence  of  the  past  in  this  modern  district.  Its 
name  commemorates  Geoffroy,  sueur  [sutor^  en  cuir,  and  his 
wife  Marie,  who,  having  no  children,  made  over  a  little 
farm,  which  they  possessed  here,  to  the  Hôtel  Dieu  (Au- 
gust I,  1260),  on  condition  of  being  furnished  for  life  with 
the  same  humble  fare  and  clothing  with  which  the  brethren 
of  the  Hôtel  Dieu  were  themselves  provided.  The  prop- 
erty which  Geoffroy  and  Marie  then  disposed  of  was  sold, 
in  1840,  for  3,075,600  francs  ! 

The  name  of  Grange  Batelière,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Montmartre,  was  originally  Grange- 
Batailliere,  and  is  supposed  to  mark  a  Champ  de  Mars 
of  the  IX.  c.  The  farm  which  formerly  stood  here  occu- 
pied a  rising  ground  in  marshy  land,  commemorated  in 
the  Rue  Chante-Raine  (frog's  croak).  The  site  was  after- 
wards occupied  by  a  château  which  was  part  of  the  dowry 
of  Catherine  de  Vendôme,  who  married  Jean  de  Bourbon, 
great-great-grandfather  of  Henri  IV. 

In  the  XVIII.  c.  the  Rue  de  la  Gra7ige- Batelière  be- 
came one  of  the  most  fashionable  in  Paris.  But  its  for- 
tunes paled  after  the  death  of  the  Due  de  Choiseul  in  1785, 
and  the  sale  of  his  hotel  in  the  street  by  the  duchess. 


488  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

On  the  right  of  the  Boulevard  Bonne  Nouvelle,  the  Rue 
Pourtales  was  formerly  the  Rue  Neuve  St.  Etienne,  where 
(at  No.  30)  a  distich  over  one  of  the  doors  of  the  interior 
commemorates  the  residence  of  the  anchorite  historian 
Rollin. 

"  1697.  I  begin  to  feel  and  to  love  more  than  ever  the  pleas- 
ures of  rural  life,  since  I  have  had  a  little  garden,  that  takes  the 
place  of  a  country  house,  and  is  for  me  Fleury  and  Villeneuve, 
I  have  no  long  alleys  stretching  away  till  lost  to  sight,  but  only 
two  little  ones,  one  of  which  gives  me  shade  in  a  neat  little  nook, 
and  the  other,  open  to  the  south,  gives  me  sun  during  a  good 
part  of  the  day,  and  promises  me  a  good  crop  of  fruit  in  the  sea- 
son. A  little  espalier,  covered  with  five  apricot  trees  and  ten 
peach  trees,  is  all  my  orchard.  I  have  no  bee-hives,  but  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing,  every  day,  the  bees  fluttering  over  the  blossoms 
of  my  trees,  and  clinging  to  their  prey  while  they  enrich  them- 
selves with  the  juice  they  extract,  without  doing  me  any  harm. 
My  joy,  however,  is  not  free  from  inquietude,  and  the  love  I  have 
for  my  litde  espalier  and  some  lilies  of  the  valley  makes  me 
dread  the  cold  nights  which,  without  them,  I  would  not." — 
Rollin  à  Le  Pelletier. 

In  this  street  Descartes  lived,  Pascal  died,  Bernardin 
de  St.  Pierre  studied,  and  Mme  Roland  was  brought  up  in 
the  convent  of  Augustines  (No.  6). 

At  the  entrance  of  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  St.  Denis,  from 
the  boulevards,  is  the  Porte  St.  Denis,  a  heavy  and  hideous 
Arch  of  Triumph,  built,  as  a  medal  attests  (1670-72),  by 
Bullet,  a  pupil  of  Blondel,  to  commemorate  the  earlier  Ger- 
man victories  of  Louis  XIV.  To  erect  this  arch  the  ancient 
XIV.  c.  Porte  St.  Denis  on  the  walls  of  Charles  V.  was 
demolished— perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  the  city  gates. 

"'Nos  roys,'  dit  Dubreul,  'faisant  leurs  premières  entrées 
dans  Paris,  entrent  par  cette  porte,  qui  est  ornée  d'un  riche  avant- 
portail,  où  se  voyent  par  admiration  diverses  statues  et  figures 
qui  sont  faictes  et  dressées  exprès,  avec  plusieurs  vers  et  sen- 
tences pour  explications  d'icelles.  .  .  .  C'est  aussi  par  cette 
porte  que  les  corps  des  defuncts  rois  sortent  pour  être  portez  en 


RUE  D' A  BO  U KIR  489 

pompes  funèbres  à  Saint  Denys.'  The  Porte  St.  Denis  of  Paiis 
was  built  in  a  bold  salient  before  the  curtain  and  formed  a  veri- 
table castle  capable  of  holding  a  body  of  troops.  In  1413,  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  presented  himself  before  Paris,  at  St.  Denis, 
with  the  wish,  it  is  said,  of  speaking  to  the  king  ;  but,  as  a  Journal 
of  a  townsman  of  Paris  in  the  reign  of  Charles  VI.  says,  'on  lui 
ferma  les  portes,  et  furent  murées,  comme  autreifois  avoit  esté, 
avecques  ce  très  grant  foison  de  gens  d'armes  les  gardoient  jour 
et  nuyt.'  " — Viollet-le-Duc. 

A  little  way  clown  the  Rue  du  Se7itier,  which  runs  south 
from  the  boulevard,  No.  32  (left)  was  the  house  of  M. 
d'Etoiles,  the  husband  of  Mme  de  Pompadour  ;  it  has  a 
good  balcony  towards  the  court,  and  a  salon  adorned  with 
paintings  attributed  to  Fragonard. 

Running  south-west  is  the  Rue  d^Aboukir,  on  the  left  of 
which  the  Passage  du  Caire  crosses  the  site  of  the  convent 
of  the  Filles  Dieu,  founded  by  St.  Louis  in  1226,  before 
which  all  persons  condemned  to  be  executed  at  the  gibbet 
of  Montfaucon,  stopped  on  their  way  to  execution,  when 
they  were  taken  to  kiss  a  crucifix  which  hung  on  the  east 
wall  of  the  church.  Holy  water  was  then  given  them,  with 
the  more  material  consolation  of  three  pieces  of  bread  and 
a  glass  of  wine.  A  similar  custom  existed  at  St.  Giles's  in 
London,  for  those  about  to  suffer  at  Tyburn. 

A  little  south  of  the  Rue  d'Aboukir  was  the  most  re- 
markable of  the  nine  courts  (in  different  quarters  of  Paris) 
which  were  called  Cours  des  Miracles,  because  when  the 
beggars  who  inhabited  them  reached  home  they  laid  aside 
their  acting  and  returned  to  their  natural  condition — the 
blind  seeing,  the  lame  walking,  and  the  paralyzed  recover- 
ing the  use  of  their  limbs. 

"The  beggars  were  driven  into  certain  quarters  assigned  to 
them,  which  were  carefully  closed  ;  the  most  considerable  of 
these  haunts  was  the  Cinir  des  Miracles,  where  these  social  ver- 
min  retired   at  nightfall.     In    the  morning,  when    these  mendi- 


490 


WALKS  I  AT  PARIS 


cants,  or  truands,  spread  over  the  town,  they  were  lame,  blind, 
crippled,  or  covered  with  sores  ;  in  the  evening,  on  re-entering 
their  den,  they  were  sound,  healthy,  and  joyous,  and  passed  the 
night  in  orgies  and  debauch.  This  ingenious  knavery  gave  the 
name  Cour  des  Miracles  to  this  haunt  of  the  beggars." — La  fosse, 
'' Hist,  de  Paris." 

The  space  between  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  St.  Denis, 
and  the  Rue  de  Faubourg  St.  Martin,  is  the  busiest  and 
most  commercial  quarter  of  Paris.  In  the  Rue  du  Fau- 
bourg St.  Denis  (No.  107)  is  the  Prison  of  St.  Lazare,  on 
the  site  of  the  Leper  Hospital  of  St.  Ladre,  which  existed 
in  the  XII.  c,  and  which  (in  1632)  was  given  to  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul,  who  made  it  the  centre  of  his  Congrégation 
des  Missions  (Lazaristes),  though  he  was  still  obliged  by 
the  archbishop  to  receive  the  lepers  of  the  town  and  sub- 
urbs. The  cell  of  St.  Vincent  is  preserved  as  an  oratory. 
The  enclosure  of  the  conventual  buildings  was  so  vast  as 
to  include  both  the  site  of  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  and  that  of  the  Gare  du  Nord.  The  prison  is  now 
only  used  for  women.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion (July  13,  1789)  St.  Lazare  was  invaded  and  sacked 
by  the  people  under  the  idea  that  it  was  a  depot  of  arms. 
It  was  afterwards  crowded  with  royalist  prisoners,  and 
thence  many  noble  victims,  including  the  Comte  de  Mon- 
talembert,  passed  to  the  scaffold. 

The  Boulevard  Sèbastopol  now  diverges  (on  the  right), 
and  the  Boulevard  de  Strasbourg  (on  the  left)  leading  to 
the  Gare  de  l'Est.  A  considerable  distance  down  the  lat- 
ter (on  the  right),  at  the  entrance  of  the  Boulevard  Ma- 
genta, is  the  Church  of  St.  Laurent,  which  belonged  to  a 
monastery  where  St.  Domnole  was  abbot  in  the  VL  c. 
The  older  parts  of  the  church  (apse  and  tower)  are  early 
XV.  c.  ;  the  nave  and  transept,  of  the  end  of  the  XVI.  c.  j 
and  the  main  west  façade,  of  1622.     There  is  some  good 


PARC  J)F.S   Bl'TJ'KS    ClIAUMONT  401 

Stained-glass    in    the   handsome    renaissance -gothic    inte- 


"  The  choir  and  apse  have  kept,  better  than  the  nave,  some 
details  of  gothic  ornament.  We  will  mention  a  niche  containing  a 
grand  figure  of  St.  John  Baptist,  of  the  fifteenth  century  ;  some 
consoles  under  the  gargoyles,  such  as  winged  female  figures,  a 
monster  with  a  negro's  head  and  lion's  claws,  &c.;  lastly  and 
specially,  the  carved  cornice  that  crowns  the  highest  part  of  the 
walls.  In  this,  amid  branches  of  foliage,  a  crowd  of  little  creat- 
ures, most  daintily  conceived,  are  running  and  climbing.  Chil- 
dren, with  fools'  caps,  are  making  contortions  ;  one  is  kneeling 
down,  with  a  piteous  expression,  to  get  a  birching  from  a  stern 
old  schoolmaster  ;  angels  have  their  bodies  terminating  in  beasts' 
tails  ;  a  hunter,  in  a  quaint  costume,  is  shooting  arrows  at  a  spe- 
cies of  salamander." — Guilhcnny,  ''Hist,  de  Parish 

There  is  a  line  of  omnibuses  down  the  Boulevard  de 
Strasbourg  (falling  into  the  Faubourg  St.  Martin  and  Rue 
Lafayette)  to  La  Villette,  where  Le  Gravid  Abattoir  may  be 
seen,  between  the  Canal  St.  Denis  and  the  Canal  de 
rOurcq.  It  is  worth  while  to  ascend  to  the  Buttes  Chau- 
iiioiit — curious  steep  hillocks  covered  with  grass,  and  quar- 
ried for  gypsum.  In  the  further  part  of  these,  one  of  the 
most  charming  pleasure-grounds  in  Paris  has  been  created 
— the  Pare  des  Buttes  Chaujnont — with  delightful  drives 
and  walks  winding  amongst  the  hills,  and  with  views  which 
an  artist  may  well  paint  :  on  one  side,  across  to  the  Pan- 
theon and  the  churches  of  the  southern  bank  of  the  Seine  ; 
on  the  other,  to  where  the  heights  of  Montmartre  call  up  a 
reminiscence  of  the  Acropolis  of  Athens,  as  they  stand 
up,  crowned  with  picturesque  groups  of  buildings,  against 
the  misty  town  and  faint  hills.  The  Pare  des  Buttes  Chau- 
mont  may  be  reached  by  the  station  of  La  Villette  on  the 
Chemin  de  Fer  de  Ceinture. 

In  this  district,  on  an  ofTshoot  of  the  heights  of  Chau- 
mont,  between  the  Faubourg  du  Temple  and  St.  Martin, 


492  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

stood  the  famous  gallows  of  Montfaucon,  the  Tyburn  of 
France.  In  feudal  language  this  place  of  execution  was 
called  3.  justice,  more  commonly  2ifou7rhe patibulaire. 

"  It  was  a  pile  of  masonry  raised  from  15  to  18  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  soil  ;  on  this  pile,  42  feet  long  by  about  30  wide, 
stood  16  pillars  of  hard  stone,  each  32  feet  high.  These  pillars 
supported  large  beams  of  wood,  from  which  iron  chains  were 
suspended  ;  to  these  chains  the  bodies  of  criminals  executed  at 
Paris  were  attached.  Fifty  or  sixty  corpses,  dried  up,  mutilated, 
rotting,  and  shaken  by  the  winds,  were  to  be  seen.  This  horri- 
ble spectacle  did  not  prevent  the  Parisians  from  coming  to  hold 
orgies  around  the  gibbet. 

"When  all  the  places  were  occupied,  then,  in  order  to  attach 
to  the  gibbet  new  corpses,  the  old  ones  were  taken  down  and 
thrown  into  a  pit,  the  opening  of  which  was  in  the  centre  of  the 
pile. 

"A  large  stairway  led  to  this  frightful  structure;  a  stout 
gate  forbade  admission  to  the  circuit,  without  doubt  from  the 
fear  that  the  bodies  might  be  taken  away  by  relatives  to  be  buried, 
or  by  sorcerers,  to  serve  for  their  magical  operations." — Dulanje, 
^'Hist.  de  Paris." 

"A  little  on  this  side  Paris,  even  at  the  towns  end,  there  is 
the  fayrest  gallowes  that  ever  I  saw,  built  upon  a  small  hillocke 
called  Mount  Falcon,  which  consisteth  of  fourteene  fair  pillars  of 
free-stone  :  this  gallowes  was  made  in  the  time  of  the  Guisian 
massacre,  to  hang  the  admiral  of  France  Chatillion,  who  was  a 
protestant.     Anne  Dom.  1572." — Coryafs  "  Crudities,''  1611. 

The  gallows  were  really  only  repaired  at  the  time 
Coryat  speaks  of,  and  were  of  very  early  date.  Pierre  la 
Brosse  was  hanged  there  in  the  time  of  Philippe  III.,  for 
bearing  false  witness  against  the  Queen,  Marie  de  Brabant. 
Enguerrand  de  Marigny,  who  had  himself  repaired  the  gal- 
lows, was  hanged  there  under  Louis  le  Hutin  (1315),  being 
unjustly  accused  of  treason  by  one  of  the  courtiers.  The 
long  list  of  those  who  afterwards  suffered  here  comprises 
Remy  de  Montigny,  the  Provost  Henri  Taperel,  Jourdain 
de  ITsle,  Jean  de  Montagu,  Pierre  des  Essarts,  Olivier  le 


BELLEVILLE 


493 


Daim,  Jacques  de  Sablançay  (Minister  of  Finance,  victim 
of  tlie  injustice  of  François  I.,  and  the  avarice  and  false- 
liood  of  his  mother,  Louise  de  Savoie),  and  Laurent  Gar- 
nier  ;  and  here  the  body  of  Admiral  Coligny  was  exposed. 
Returning  to  the  Boulevard  St.  Denis,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  St.  Martin,  is  the  heavy  Porte  St. 
Martin^  built  (i 670-1 674)  to  commemorate  the  capture  of 
Besançon,  upon  the  site  of  another  gate  in  the  old  city- 
walls  of  Charles  V. 

"  On  one  side  of  the  Porte  St.  Martin,  a  sculptor,  who  doubt- 
less loved  nature  unadorned,  has  represented  Louis  XIV.  naked, 
absolutely  naked,  with  floating  hair,  and  a  mace  in  his  hand," — 
Saint- Foix,  "  Essais  hist,  stir  Paris." 

In  former  times  duels  used  to  be  fought  here  on  the 
boulevards,  in  broad  daylight,  without  interference. 

"A  terrible  combat  took  place  beneath  the  windows  of  our 
room,  in  which  Blancrochet  and  Daubri,  the  two  most  famous 
swordsmen  in  Paris,  were  killed  after  a  vigorous  resistance.  It 
was  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  everybody  looked  on  with- 
out trying  to  separate  them  ;  for  at  Paris  people  are  allowed  to 
kill  each  other  if  they  like.  ...  M.  de  Lubière,  d'Orange,  M.  de 
Roncoulle,  and  my  uncle  Cotton,  were  at  the  windows  while  this 
was  going  on,  and  they  admired  the  bravery  of  one  of  these 
swordsmen,  who  defended  himself  alone  against  four  of  his  ene- 
mies, one  of  whom  at  last  gave  him  a  stroke  in  the  back,  which 
made  him  fall  about  four  feet  from  the  body  of  his  companion." 
— MtTie  de  Noyer,  "  Lettres." 

Continuing  "the  Boulevard  St.  Martin  (which  contains 
the  Café  Parisieii  and  the  Theatre  des  Folies  Dramatiques)^ 
the  Rue  du  Faubourg  du  Temple  leads  (north-east)  to  the 
suburban  heights  oi Belleville,  where  the  "  Battle  of  Paris" 
was  fought  (March  30,  1814),  and  gained  by  the  allied 
sovereigns,  who  forthwith  occupied  the  capital.  The 
Church  of  St.  Jeafi  Baptiste  wdiS  built  (1855-59)  ^^^^  plans 
of  Lassus. 


494  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  Rue  de  Belleville  leads  to  the  Jiue  Haxo^  where' 
forty-two  hostages  were  murdered  (May  26,  187 1),  includ- 
ing ten  priests  and  mzxiy  gardiens  and  gendarmes.  With 
the  priests  was  a  young  seminarist,  Paul  Seigneret,  "  un 
jeune  homme  de  vingt-six  ans,"  says  Ducamp,  "un  être 
d'une  candeur  et  d'une  foi  extraordinaire." 

"The  agony  these  unhappy  men  had  to  support  was  incon- 
ceivable. There  was  no  one  in  the  crowd  surrounding  them  not 
anxious  to  strike  a  blow,  utter  an  insult,  or  fling  a  stone.  They 
were  dripping  with  sweat  ;  the  soldiers  kept  a  steady  front,  and, 
under  the  shower  of  filthy  projectiles  which  fell  on  them,  marched 
as  under  fire  in  the  best  days  of  their  youth.  Behind  them  the 
priests,  in  loud  tones,  exhorted  them  to  die  nobl}-.  There  was 
no  need.  Around  them  the  mob  sang,  danced,  and  yelled,  .  .  . 
The  hostages,  pressed  by  the  crowd,  were  driven  into  a  pretty 
large  square,  separated  by  a  weak  barrier  of  wood  from  a  large 
garden  where  some  buildings,  interrupted  by  the  war,  had  been 
commenced.  The  Maréchal  de  logis  Geanty  was  placed  against 
the  wall  of  one  of  these  houses.  He  stood  motionless,  his  arms 
crossed,  impassable  beneath  the  stones  and  mud  flung  at  him  by 
the  women.  He  tore  open  his  coat  and  exposed  his  breast.  An 
aged  priest  placed  himself  before  him  and  received  the  shot 
meant  for  him.  The  priest  fell  and  Geanty  was  seen  still  erect, 
still  displaying  his  breast.  He  was  struck  down.  Gun  shots 
and  revolver  shots  were  discharged  at  the  unhappy  men.  Hip- 
polyte  Parent  erect  on  a  little  wooden  balcony,  smoking  a  cigar, 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  was  looking  on,  and  looked  on  to 
the  end.  Massacre  was  not  enough  ;  it  was  turned  into  sport. 
The  unhappy  victims  were  compelled  to  leap  over  the  little  wall  ; 
the  gendarmes  leaped  and  the  murderers  shot  them  '  flying  ;  ' 
this  caused  laughter.  The  last  soldier  who  remained  erect  was 
a  Garde  de  Paris,  a  fine  fellow  of  thirty,  who,  without  doubt, 
when  on  duty  at  the  Comédie  Française,  had  seen  Ponsard's 
Lions  amoureux  performed  ;  at  least  we  may  suppose  so  from  the 
manner  of  his  death.  He  walked  slowly  to  the  low  wall  which 
he  had  to  cross,  turned  round,  saluted  the  red  turf,  and  cried, 
'  Gentlemen,  long  live  the  Emperor  !  '  then  jerking  his  Cj^p  into 
the  air,  he  gave  a  spring  and  fell  back,  struck  by  three  balls,  on 
the  heap  of  wounded,  who  still  moved  and  groaned.  The  priests 
were  ordered  to  leap  the  wall.     They  refused.    One  of  them  said, 


BOULEVARD   DU    TEMPLE  4^^ 

'  We  are  ready  to  confess  our  faith  ;  but  it  does  not  suit  us  to  die, 
doing  hand-springs.'  .  ,  .  When  the  corpses  were  collected,  on 
Monday,  the  29th  of  May,  it  was  proved  that  one  of  the  bodies 
had  received  sixty-nine  gunshot  wounds,  and  that  Father  de 
Bengy  had  been  pierced  by  seventy-two  thrusts  of  bayonets." — 
Maxime  Ducamp. 

A  monument  now  rises  in  the  street  to  their  memory. 

The  Rue  Bichat  leads  (north)  from  the  Rue  du  Fau- 
bourg du  Temple  to  the  Hôpital  St.  Louis^  founded  by 
Henri  IV.  in  1607.  The  chapel  is  of  that  date.  In  the 
entrance-court  is  a  statue  of  Montyon. 

It  was  on  the  ascent  to  Belleville  that  one  of  the  great 
barricades  of  1848  was  erected. 

"  You  could  see  in  the  distance  across  the  canal,  and  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  ascent  to  Belleville,  a  strange  wall  rising  to 
the  second  fîoor  and  forming  a  sort  of  connecting  link  between 
the  houses  on  the  right  and  those  on  the  left,  as  if  the  street  had 
folded  back  its  highest  wall  in  order  to  close  itself  up.  This  was 
built  of  paving-stones  ;  it  was  tall,  straight,  correct,  cold,  per- 
pendicular, and  levelled  with  the  plumb-line  and  the  square  ;  of 
course  there  was  no  cement,  but,  as  in  some  Roman  walls,  this 
in  no  way  disturbed  its  rigid  architecture.  From  its  height,  its 
depth  could  be  guessed,  for  the  entablature  was  mathematically 
parallel  to  the  basement.  At  regular  distances  almost  invisible 
loopholes,  resembling  black  threads,  could  be  distinguished  in 
the  gray  wall.  This  street  was  deserted  as  far  as  could  be  seen, 
and  all  the  windows  and  doors  closed.  At  its  end  was  this  barri- 
cade which  made  the  street  impassable  ;  an  immovable,  quiet 
wall  ;  no  one  was  visible  there,  nothing  was  heard,  not  a  cry,  not 
a  noise,  not  a  breath.     A  sepulchre  ! 

"The  dazzling  sun  of  June  flooded  with  light  this  terrific 
thing. 

"This  was  the  barricade  of  the  Faubourg  du  Temple." — 
Victor  Hugo,  "  I^es  Misth-ahlcsy 

The  Boulevard  du  Tetnple  leads  (south-east)  from  the 
end  of  the  Boulevard  St.  Martin.  No.  42  occupies  the  site 
of  the  house  of  Fieschi,  whence  the  infernal  machine  ex- 


496  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

ploded  (July  28,  1835),  killing  Marshal  Mortier  and  four- 
teen other  persons,  and  wounding  forty. 

"  Fieschi  was  a  bravo,  a  condottiere,  nothing  more.  He  had 
served  and  mixed  up  with  his  crime  some  sort  of  military  ideas. 
'  Your  deed  is  very  horrible,'  said  M.  Pasquier,  '  to  shoot  down 
innocent  persons  who  have  never  wronged  you,  passers-by!' 
Fieschi  replied  coolly,  '  It  is  what  soldiers  do  in  ambush.'" — Vic- 
tor Hugo,  "  Choses  vues." 

The  Boulevard  is  much  altered — all  its  character  gone 

— since  we  read — 

"  La  seul'  prom'nade  qu'ait  du  prix, 
La  seule  dont  je  suis  épris, 
La  seule,  où  j'm'en  donne,  où  c'que  j'ris. 
C'est  l'boul'vard  du  Temple  à  Paris," — Dhaugiers. 

In  the  Place  de  la  République  (formerly  the  Château 
d'Eau)  is  a  tasteless  bronze  Statue  of  the  Republic^  with 
representations  on  its  pedestal  from  scenes  in  the  differ- 
ent revolutions  ;  an  animal,  meant  for  a  lion,  crouches  in 
front. 

"Soon  the  deserting  of  the  boulevards  begin;  there  are  no 
strollers  on  the  wastes  of  these  royal  promenades.  Ennui  lays 
hold  of  you,  the  air  of  factories  is  scented  in  the  distance.  There 
is  nothing  original  here.  The  man  out  of  business  walks  about 
in  his  dressing-gown  if  he  likes,  and,  on  fine  days,  blind  men 
may  be  seen  playing  cards.  In  pisccm  desinit  elegantia.  Little 
palaces  of  glass  or  metal  work  are  displayed  on  tables.  The 
shops  are  hideous,  the  goods  displayed,  sickening.  The  head  is 
at  the  Madeleine,  the  feet  at  the  Boulevard  des  Filles-du-Calvaire. 
Life  and  movement  begin  again  on  the  Boulevard  Beaumarchais, 
on  account  of  the  shops  of  some  dealers  in  bric-a-brac,  and  of  the 
population  that  is  gathered  around  the  Column  of  July.  There 
is  a  theatre  there,  which  has  taken  from  Beaumarchais  nothing 
but  his  name." — Balzac,  ^ ^  Esqtiisses  parisiennes." 

Returning  as  far  as  the  Boulevard  Montmartre,  the  Rue 
Vivienne  diverges  on  the  left.^     Here  is  the  Bourse  (the 

>  Formerly  Vivien,  after  Louis,  Michel,  and  Anne  Vivien,  ancient  pos- 
sessors of  the  soil. 


BIBLIOTHÈQUE   NATIONALE  497 

Exchange,  open  on  week-days  from  12  to  3),  built  (1808-27) 
from  plans  of  Brongniart — magnificent,  yet  not  undeserving 
of  the  description,  "grenier  à  foin,  bâtard  du  Parthenon." 
"There  is  nothing  concealed  except  the  central  hall,  which 
is  the  one  thing  that  ought  to  be  showi)." 

"  The  building  is  merely  a  rectangular  palace.  It  is  234  feet 
in  length  by  161  in  width,  measured  over  the  bases  of  the  col- 
umns, and  these  are  each  40  feet  in  height.  Two  of  the  stories 
of  windows  are  shown  beneath  the  colonnade,  the  third  par- 
tially concealed  by  its  balustrade  at  the  top  ;  but  the  existence 
of  the  attic  prevents  the  roof  having  any  connection  with  the 
peristyle,  and,  as  the  proportions  of  the  building  approach 
much  more  nearly  to  a  square  than  they  ought,  the  roof  is  far 
too  heavy  and  important  for  the  rest  of  the  edifice.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  a  peristyle  of  sixty-six  well-proportioned  Corin- 
thian columns  (twenty  on  each  flank  and  fourteen  on  each  front, 
counting  the  angle  pillars  both  ways)  cannot  fail  to  produce  a  cer- 
tain effect  ;  though  more  might  have  been  produced  by  a  less 
expenditure  of  means." — Fergussoti. 

"  As  for  the  Bourse,  which  is  Greek  by  its  colonnade,  Roman 
by  its  arches  and  doors  and  windows.  Renaissance  by  its  flat 
vault,  it  is  unquestionably  a  very  correct  and  pure  structure,  and 
the  proof  is,  it  is  crowned  by  an  attic  such  as  Athens  never  saw, 
a  fine  right  line,  gracefully  cut,  here  and  there,  by  chimney 
pots." —  Victor  LIugo. 

The  annual  amount  of  business  transacted  on  the 
Bourse  is  estimated  at  2,000,000,000/. 

We  must  cross  in  front  of  the  Bourse  to  the  Rue  de 
Richelieu  ^ — the  magnificent  street  which  the  great  cardinal 
pierced  to  indemnify  himself  for  his  expenses  in  building 
the  Palais  Cardinal.  Turning  south,  we  find  (on  the  left) 
the  great  buildings  of  the  Bibliothèque  Nationale.  The 
library  is  open  for  study  from  10  to  4  ;  the  collections  are 
only  visible  to  the  public  on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  from 

1  On  the  Boulevard,  between  the  entrance  to  the  Rue  Vivienne  and  the 
Rue  de  Richelieu,  is  the  shop  of  Messrs.  Goupil,  the  engravers,  of  European 
celebrity. 


498  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

10.30  to  4.  The  first  national  library  was  that  of  Charlesr 
V.  (1373),  afterwards  sold  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and 
carried  to  England.  Louis  XI.  brought  together  at  the 
Louvre  all  the  volumes  dispersed  throughout  the  royal 
residences,  and  this  collection  was  carried  by  Louis  XIL 
to  Blois,  where  the  library  of  Pavia  was  added  to  it. 
François  I.  began  a  new  and  magnificent  collection  at 
Fontainebleau,  and  moved  that  of  Blois  to  his  new  palace. 
The  library  united  there  was  transferred  to  the  convent  of 
the  Cordeliers,  and  in  1666  to  the  Rue  Vivienne.  It  was 
enormously  increased  under  Louis  XIII.,  Louis  XIV.  and 
Louis  XV.  At  the  suppression  of  convents  in  the  Revo- 
lution their  precious  libraries  were  added  to  the  national 
collection,  which  now  possesses  above  100,000  MSS.  of 
importance". 

The  library  occupies  part  of  the  magnificent  hotel  of 
Cardinal  Mazarin.  The  cardinal  bought  the  hotel  of 
President  Tubeuf,  built  by  Le  Muet,  at  the  corner  of  the 
Rue  Vivienne,  and  the  Hôtel  Chivry,  at  the  corner  of  the 
Rue  Richelieu.  These  he  united  in  one  splendid  palace, 
in  which  his  private  library  (confiscated  during  his  exile 
and  afterwards  gradually  recovered)  occupied  the  great 
gallery.  Here  also  he  formed  the  magnificent  collection 
of  pictures  which  were  the  delight  of  his  latter  years. 

"After  a  consultation  of  nine  physicians,  Gueneau,  the  cardi- 
nal's medical  attendant,  undertook  to  warn  him  of  his  approach- 
ing end.  It  was  thought  advisable  to  exchange  the  noise  and 
bustle  of  the  Palais  Mazarin  for  the  quiet  of  his  château  of  Vin- 
cennes,  and  the  stricken  virtuoso  determined  to  take  a  last  fare- 
well of  his  treasures.  With  his  tall  figure,  ashy-pale  and  wasted, 
enveloped  tout  mi  in  his  fur-lined  dressing-gown,  he  stole  into 
his  picture  galleries,  and  the  Comte  de  Brienne,  hearing  the 
shuffling  sound  of  his  slippers  as  he  dragged  his  limbs  feebly  and 
wearily  along,  hid  himself  behind  the  arras.  At  each  step  the 
cardinal's  weakness  obliged  him  to  halt,  and  he  murmured,  '  I 


BIBLIOTHÈQUE   NATIONALE  495 

must  leave  all  this  !  '  He  went  further  on,  holding,  so  as  to 
support  himself,  first  on  one  object  and  then  on  another,  and  as 
he  looked  round  at  each  pause  he  said  again,  with  a  deep  sigh, 
'  I  must  leave  all  this.'  At  length  he  saw  Brienne,  and  called 
to  him  in  a  very  mournful  •  voice,  '  Give  me  your  hand  :  I  am 
very  weak,  and  quite  helpless  ;  still  I  like  to  walk,  and  I  have 
something  to  do  in  my  library.'  Leaning  on  the  count's  arm, 
he  pointed  to  his  favorite  pictures.  '  See,' he  said,  'this  beau- 
tiful canvas  of  Correggio,  and  this  Venus  of  Titian,  and  this  in- 
comparable Deluge  of  Caracci.  Ah,  my  poor  friend,  I  must 
leave  all  this.  Adieu,  my  dear  pictures,  which  I  have  loved  so 
well  !  '  " — Quarterly  Review,  No.  30g. 

After  the  death  of  the  cardinal,  his  books  were  taken 
to  the  Collège  Mazarin,  with  the  wood-carving  of  his 
library,  and  now  form  the  Bibliothèque  Mazarine.  His 
palace  was  divided  between  his  heirs.  The  Hôtel  Tubeuf 
fell  to  the  Due  de  la  Meilleraye,  the  other  parts  to  the 
Marquis  de  Mancini,  Due  de  Nivernais,  who  gave  them 
the  name  of  Hôtel  de  Nevers.  The  Hôtel  Tubeuf,  bought 
by  Louis  XIV.,  became  the  seat  of  the  Compagnie  des 
Indes  ;  afterwards  the  Bourse  was  installed  there,  and  re- 
mained there  till  the  present  century.  The  Hôtel  de  Ne- 
vers was  used  for  the  bank  of  Law,  and  in  1721  was 
bought  by  the  Regent,  that  the  Bibliothèque  du  Roi  might 
be  placed  there. 

The  older  parts  of  the  existing  building  belong  to  what 
was  once  the  Hôtel  Tubeuf;  the  Hôtel  Chivry  has  been 
pulled  down. 

The  library  is  entered  by  visitors  from  the  Rue  Riche- 
lieu by  the  door  nearest  the  boulevards.  Passing  the  Salic 
de  Travail^  and  ascending  the  staircase,  hung  with  a  tapes- 
try from  Château  Bayard,  they  find,  in  an  anteroom,  the 
curious  bronze  Parnasse  Français,  executed  by  Titon  du 
Tillet  in  172 1.  The  Apollo,  who  is  attended  by  the  nine 
Muses,  is  Louis  XIV. 


500  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

The  magnificent  Galerie  Mazarine,  which  looks  upon 

the  Rue  Vivienne,  has  a  beautiful  mythological  ceiling  by 

Romanelli,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  galleries  of  its  date  in 

existence. 

"The  progress  of  the  Palais  Mazarin  excited  the  liveliest 
interest  among  the  Court  ladies.  All  classic  mythology  was  to 
be  reproduced  upon  the  ceiling  of  the  great  galleries  ;  and,  as  a 
bevy  of  beauties  looked  on  approvingly,  Romanelli  silently  in- 
troduced the  portrait  of  the  fairest  into  his  design.  On  their 
next  visit  the  likeness  was  detected,  and  a  clamor  of  discontent 
and  jealousy  arose.  In  vain  did  the  artist  plead,  '  How  could  I, 
with  one  pair  of  hands,  paint  you  all  at  once?'  He  could  only 
appease  them  by  painting  every  one  of  them  in  turn." — Quarterly 
Review,  No.  309. 

Here  many  of  the  great  MS.  treasures  of  France  are 
exhibited  in  cases — the  "  Evangiles  de  Charlemagne  ;  " 
"  Evangiles  "  of  the  Emperor  Lothaire  ;  "  Evangiles  des 
Messes  "  of  the  time  of  St.  Louis  ;  Bible  and  Psalm-book 
of  St.  Louis,  Bible  of  Charles  le  Chauve,  Bible  of  Philippe 
le  Bel,  and  Bible  of  Louis  XL;  a  "Vie  de  St.  Denis," 
which  belonged  to  Philippe  le  Long;  "Les  Vigiles  de 
Charles  VIL  ;  "  a  copy  of  the  "Evangiles"  given  to  the 
Sainte  Chapelle  by  Charles  V.  (1379);  the  "Armorial 
General  de  Gilles  de  Bouvier,  premier  héraut  de  Charles 
VIL  ;"   the  "  Livre  d'Heures  de  Louis  XIV.,"  &c. 

The  collection  of  bindings — in  metal,  ivory,  and  leather 
— is  most  important  and  beautiful.  Specimens  are  shown 
of  the  earliest  books  printed  in  France.  There  is  a  rich 
collection  of  autographs,  including  the  MS.  sermons  of 
Bossuet,  of  the  Pensées  of  Pascal,  the  Télèmaque  of  Féne- 
lon,  and  letters  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  Montesquieu,  La 
Bruyère,  Mme  de  Maintenon,  Mme  de  Sévigné,  Turenne, 
Racine,  Boileau,  Corneille,  Molière,  Malherbe,  Diderot, 
Lesueur,  Père  Lachaise,  St.  François  de  Sales,  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul,  &c. 


PLACE  DES    VICTOIRES  501 

The  interesting  portrait  of  King  John — "  Jehan  Rey 
de  France  " — formerly  in  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  is  now  pre- 
served here,  and  La  Cuve  de  Dagobcrt^  brought  from  Poi- 
tiers, in  which  St.  Martin  is  said  to  have  been  baptized  by 
St.  Hilaire.  A  side  gallery  is  hung  with  ancient  charters 
and  maps. 

A  door  lower  down  the  Rue  de  Richelieu  is  the  en- 
trance to  the  Colledion  of  Bronzes^  Medals,  &^c.  The  prin- 
cipal treasures  are  shown  in  cases  in  the  centre  of  the 
rooms  on  the  right,  and  comprise  many  valuable  speci- 
mens of  old  church  plate,  especially  an  exquisite  XI.  c. 
chalice  from  St.  Remy  at  Rheims,  and  many  specimens 
from  St.  Denis  ;  the  treasures  found  in  a  shrine  of  Mer- 
cury near  Berthonville,  in  1830  ;  and  the  cup  of  Chosroes 
I.,  King  of  Persia  (575),  from  the  treasuryof  St.  Denis, 
where  it  was  shown  as  the  cup  of  Solomon.  The  Collec- 
tion of  Cameos  is  of  marvellous  beauty,  and  includes  a 
priceless  Apotheosis  of  Augustus — the  largest  cameo  in 
the  world — which  formed  part  of  the  treasury  of  the  Sainte 
Chapelle.  Charles  V.  imagined  that  it  represented  the 
triumph  of  the  patriarch  Joseph,  and,  as  such,  had  it  framed 
in  enamel,  with  the  four  Evangelists.  A  room  to  the  left 
is  devoted  to  the  collections  bequeathed  by  the  Due  de 
Luynes  (1867). 

Behind  the  Library  (a  little  east)  is  the  Church  of 
Notre  Dame  des  Victoires  or  des  Petits  Peres,  founded  by 
Louis  XIIL  (in  1629)  to  commemorate  the  victories  over 
the  protestants  at  La  .Rochelle,  and  given  to  the  Augustins 
déchaussés,  known  in  Paris  as  Petits  Pères.  In  the  first 
chapel  (right)  is  the  tomb  of  Jean  Vassal,  secretary  of 
Louis  XIIL,  by  Cotton.  The  chapel  of  the  Virgin,  a 
famous  goal  of  pilgrimage,  is  covered  with  ex-votos. 

A  few  steps  east  take  us  into  the  circular  Place  des 


502  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Victoires,  constructed  from  designs  of  Mansart  (1685),  at 
the  expense  of  a  private  individual  —the  Due  de  la  Feuil- 
lade — "  le  courtisan  qui  a  passé  tous  les  courtisans,"'  on  the 
site  of  the  Hôtel  d'Emery  and  the  Hôtel  de  Senneterre,  to 
flatter  Louis  XIV.  The  bronze  statue  of  the  king,  by 
Desjardins,^  was  placed  in  the  centre,  trampling  on  a 
Cerberus,  whose  three  heads  represented  the  triple  alliance. 
At  the  angles  of  the  pedestal,  inscribed  "  Viro  immortali," 
were  the  four  statues  of  chained  nations,  now  at  the  Hôtel 
des  Invalides.  The  statue  of  the  king  was  destroyed  in 
the  Revolution,  and  replaced  by  a  ridiculous  plaster  pyra- 
mid, with  inscriptions  recording  the  Republican  victories. 
This  was  exchanged,  in  1806,  for  a  bronze  statue  of 
Desaix,  melted  down  in  18 14  to  make  the  present  peri- 
wigged equestrian  statue  by  Bosio,  erected  by  "  Ludovicus 
XVIII.  atavosuo." 

"Si  je  traverse  la  place  des  Victoires,  je  me  dis:  on  voloit 
en  plein  jour  sur  ce  terrein  où  l'on  voit  aujourd'hui  la  figure 
d'un  Roi  qui  vouloit  être  conquérant.  Le  quartier  s'appelloit 
le  quartier  Vuide-Gonsset.  Un  petit  bout  de  rue,  qui  conduit  à  la 
place  où  le  Souverain  est  représenté  en  bronze,  en  a  retenu  le 
nom  ;  et  dans  cette  place  des  Victoires,  qui  a  si  long-temps 
révolté  l'Europe,  je  ne  puis  m'empêcher  de  me  rappeller  ce 
courtisan  qui,  selon  l'Abbé  de  Choisy,  avoit  eu  le  dessein 
d'acheter  une  cave  dans  l'église  des  Petits-Pères,  de  la  pousser 
sous  terre  jusqu'au  milieu  de  cette  place,  afin  de  se  faire  enterrer 
et  de  pourrir  religieusement  sous  la  statue  de  Louis  XIV.,  son 
maître,  V homme  iiiunorteiy — Tableau  de  Paris. 

Close  to  the  Place  des  Victoires  is  the  Hotel  des  Postes^ 
finished  1887.  In  the  Rue  du  Mail  (which  runs  north- 
east from  the  Place  des  Victoires  to  the  Rue  de  Cléry),  the 
residence  of  Colbert,  at  No.  7 — a  very  richly  ornamented 
house — is  commemorated  by  the  serpents  (his  arms)  in 
the  decorations.     No.  278  Rue  de  Clêry  was  the  house  of 

1  Mme  de  Sévigné.  -  Martin  Van  Den  Bogaert. 


RUE   DR   LA    VRILUÈRE  503 

Cagliostro.     The  famous  Mme  Lebrun  had  her  studio  in 
this  Street. 

Close  to  the  Place  des  Victoires  (on  the  south-west)  is 
the  Banque  de  France  in  the  Rue  de  la  Vrillicre^  which 
commemorates  the  hotel  built  (in  1620)  for  Raymond 
Phe'lippeaux,  Due  de  la  Vrilliere,  Secretary  of  State,  by 
François  Mansart.  It  was  bought  from  the  family  of  La 
Vrilliere,  in  1705,  by  M.  Rouillé,  afterwards  Directeur- 
Général  des  Finances,  and,  in  17 13,  it  was  purchased  by 
the  Comte  de  Toulouse,  son  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Mme  de 
Montespan,  who  gave  it  a  new  name  and  employed  the 
royal  architect,  Robert  Cotte,  to  change  its  arrangements, 
Nicholas  Coustou  in  its  sculptures,  and  Oudry  in  its 
pictorial  decorations.  Here  the  Count,  who  was  "l'hon- 
neur, la  droiture,  l'équité  même,"  ^  lived  with  his  beloved 
wife,  who  was  sister  of  the  Due  de  Noailles,  and  widow 
(when  twenty-four)  of  the  Marquis  de  Gondrin.  Their 
only  son  was  the  brave  Due  de  Penthièvre,  who  married 
Marie  Thérèse  d'Esté.  His  only  daughter  married 
Philippe  Egalité,  Duc  d'Orléans,  in  1769,  and  in  the 
chapel  of  the  hotel,  his  son,  the  Prince  de  Lamballe,  was 
married  (in  1767)  to  Louise  de  Savoie  Carignan,  the 
unfortunate  friend  of  Marie  Antoinette,  who,  after  the 
death  of  her  dissipated  husband,  had  a  home  here  with 
her  father-in-law,  who  vainly  strove  to  avert  her  fate,  and 
bitterly  lamented  her — purchasing  the  head  of  his  beloved 
child  at  an  enormous  price  from  her  assassins. 

"  '  I  think  I  still  hear  her,'  the  Duke  de  Penthièvre  said  in 
his  last  conversations  with  his  daughter.  '  I  think  I  still  see  her 
seated  near  the  window  in  this  little  room.  You  remember,  my 
child,  with  what  assiduity  she  worked  there,  from  morning  to 
evening,  on  her  woman's  work  for  the  poor.  I  passed  many 
years  with  her  ;  I  never  detected  a  thought  of  her  soul  that  was 

1  St.  Simon. 


504 


WALKS  IN  PARIS 


not  for  the  queen,  for  me,  or  for  the  unhappy  ;  and  this  is  the 
angel  they  cut  to  pieces.  Ah  !  I  feel  that  thought  is  digging  my 
grave  ;  I  feel  as  if  I  were  an  accomplice  in  her  death  ;  that  I 
ought  to  have  forced  her  to  return  to  her  family  ;  that  her  attach- 
ment to  me  was  the  cause  of  her  loss.'  " — "  Vie  du  duc  de  Pen- 
thièvie"  Paris,  1803. 

Into  the  palace  of  the  Due  de  Penthièvre,  which 
"  exhaled  the  perfume  of  virtue,  and  which  calumny  never 
dared  to  corrupt,"^  the  young  poet  Florian  was  admitted 
as  a  page,  afterwards  becoming  captain  of  the  Penthièvre 
dragoons,  and  gentleman-in-waiting  to  the  semi-royal 
duke,  and  many  of  his  idyls  and  fables  were  written 
here.  Upon  the  death  of  the  Due  de  Penthièvre  (in  1793) 
his  body  was  thrown  ignominously  into  the  common  ditch, 
and  the  National  Printing  Office  was  established  in  his 
hotel,  where  it  remained  till  i8c8.  But  in  1803  the  Bank 
of  France  had  purchased  the  hotel  from  the  Government, 
and  in  181 1  it  entered  upon  its  occupation.  The  buildings 
have  since  been  greatly  increased,  and  the  most  remark- 
able remains  left  from  the  famous  Hôtel  de  Toulouse  are, 
externally,  the  projecting  angle  by  Mansart,  bracketed 
over  the  Rue  Radziwill,  which  is  regarded  as  a  master- 
piece of  stone-work  ;  and,  internally,  the  incomparable 
Galerie  Dorée  of  Mansart.  The  interior  is  not  shown 
without  a  special  permission,  to  be  obtained  by  written 
application  to  the  governor. 

In  the  Rue  du  Boulot,  which  leads  north-east  near  this, 
No.  4  is  a  very  fine  old  mansion,  and  No.  11,  the  Hôtel 
des  Empires,  was  the  hotel  of  the  Maréchal  de  Cléram- 
bault,  the  friend  of  St.  Evremond  ;  the  staircase  has  a 
splendidl3^-wrought  iron  balustrade. 

Between  the  Rue  du  Bouloi  and  the  Rue  Jean  Jacques 
Rousseau,  formerly  Grenelle  St.  Honoré  (entered  from  the 

*  Charles  Nodier,  preface  of  the  Fables  de  Florian. 


COUR  DES  FERMES 


505 


latter  at  No.  41),  the  Cours  des  Fermes  occupy  the  site 
of  the  Hôtel  de  Conde',  built  by  Françoise  d'Orle'ans 
Rothelin,  "  fort  belle  et  très-honeste  princesse,"  '  in  order 
the  better  to  be  able  to  pay  her  court  to  Catherine  de 
Medicis,'  who  had  left   the  Tuileries  for  the  Hôtel  de 


HÔTEL  DE  TOULOUSE  (BANQUE  DE  FRANCE.) 

Soubise.  It  took  the  name  of  Hôtel  de  Soissons  under 
her  son,  Charles  de  Bourbon.  He  sold  it  to  Henri  de 
Bourbon,  Due  de  Montpensier,  whose  daughter  was  the 
first  wife  of  Gaston  d'Orléans.  By  his  widow  it  was  sold 
to  the  handsome  Roger  de  St.  Larry,  Due  de  Bellegarde, 

*  Brantôme,  Vie  des  datnes  galantes. 
=  Piganiol  de  la  Force,  Desc.  de  Paris, 


5o6  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

who  employed  Andronet  Ducerceau  to  rebuild  it  magnifi; 
cently,  but  was  exiled  to  Anjou  by  Henri  IV.  for  being 
too  familiar  with  Gabrielle  d'Estre'es.  At  a  later  date  the 
poet  Racan  lived  in  the  hotel  as  page  of  M.  de  Bellegarde. 
In  1633  the  house  was  bought  by  Chancellor  Seguier, 
who  received  Louis  XIV.  and  Anne  of  Austria  here  at  à 
splendid  banquet  and  ball  to  celebrate  the  end  of  the  war 
of  the  Fronde,  and  who  first  conceived  the  idea  of  the 
Académie  Française,  founded  by  Richelieu.  After  the 
death  of  the  cardinal  he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
society,  and  for  thirty  years  its  meetings  were  held  at  the 
Hôtel  Seguier.  The  chancellor  died  here  in  1672,  and 
his  magnificent  funeral  service  at  the  Oratoire  is  described 
by  Mme  de  Sévigné.  His  hotel  was  then  pulled  down, 
and  the  Hôtel  des  Fermes  du  Roi  built  on  its  site  by 
Ledoux.  At  the  Revolution  this  was  sequestrated  and 
became  a  prison,  then  a  theatre,  finally  a  diligence  office. 
Little  now  remains  of  it. 

In  the  Rjie  Neuve  des  Petits  Champs,  which  leads  west- 
wards from  the  Place  deâ  Victoires,  No.  45,  at  the  corner 
of  the  Rue  St.  Anne,  is  the  noble  mansion  of  Lulli,  built 
for  him  by  Gittard  in  167 1,  with  11,000  livres  (lent  by 
Molière,  and  only  repaid  in  ingratitude).  The  land  which 
Lulli  purchased  for  building,  and  which  up  to  that  time  re- 
mained quite  unoccupied,  was  at  the  foot  of  the  hillock 
called  Butte  St.  Roch.  Lulli,  who  died  in  the  house,  be- 
queathed it  to  his  father-in-law,  Lambert.  It  is  very  richly 
adorned  with  Corinthian  capitals,  comic  masks,  and  a  sheaf 
of  lyric  attributes.  The  Hôtel  de  St.  Pouange,  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  Rue  St.  Anne,  was  destroyed  by  the 
Rue  Chabanais. 

The  Rue  des  Petits  Champs  became  the  great  centre 
for  the  wig-makers  of  the  XVIII.  c,  from  having  been  the 


PLACE   LOU  VOIS  '        roy 

residence  of  M.  Binet,  wig-maker  to  Louis  XIV.,  and  in- 
ventor of  the  decoration  which,  at  first,  was  called  a  binette. 

"  Les  perruques  s'établirent  sur  toutes  les  têtes.  Louis  XIV. 
et  toute  sa  cour  en  portaient  qui  pesaient  plusieurs  livres,  et 
coûtaient  jusqu'à  mille  ecus  ;  les  tresses  descendaient  sur  les 
hanches,  et  le  toupet  dominait  sur  le  front  à  une  hauteur  de  cinq 
à  six  pouces.  Plus  la  binette  était  large,  plus  le  respect  du 
peuple  croissait."  ' — Salgues,  "  De  Paris.'" 

The  next  side  street  on  the  left  of  the  Rue  des  Petits 
Champs,  beyond  the  Rue  St.  Anne,  is  the  Rue  des  Moulitis, 
which  records  the  windmills  on  the  Butte  St.  Roch,  the 
now  levelled  hill,  which  rose  behind  the  church  on  this 
site. 

Nearly  the  whole  space  between  the  Rue  St.  Anne  and 
the  Rue  de  Gaillon  (right)  was  at  one  time  occupied  by 
the  magnificent  Hôtel  de  Lyonne,  which  then  gave  a  name 
to  that  part  of  the  Rue  des  Petits  Champs.  Under  its 
later  denomination  of  Hôtel  Pontchartrain  it  served  as  a 
residence  for  Ambassadors  Extraordinary  coming  to  Paris. 
On  the  front  of  the  principal  façade  was  the  immense  sun- 
dial which  Rousseau,  who  lived  opposite,  made  use  of  for 
the  education  of  Thérèse.  "  Pendant  plus  d'un  mois,"  he 
says  in  his  CofifessioJis,  "je  m'efforçai  de  lui  faire  connaître 
les  heures.     A  peine  les  sait-elle  à  présent." 

Returning  to  the  Rue  de  Richelieu,  the  Hôtel  du  Com- 
mandeur de  jfars,  famous  during  the  Fronde,  was  built  by 
Mansart.  The  Hotel  de  rinte7ida7it  Foucault  retains  some 
of  its  ancient  decorations. 

Opening  from  the  Rue  de  Richelieu,  opposite  the 
library,  is  the  Place  Louvois,  with  a  graceful  fountain  by 
Visconti,  marking  the  site  of  the  Opera  House  where  the 
Due  de  Berry  was  murdered  (February  13,   1820).     The 

^  At  present,  when  the  common  people  wish  to  describe  that  a  head  is 
ridiculous^  they  say,  "  Quelle  binette  !  " 


5o8  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

duke  had  just  handed  the  duchess  into  her  carnage,  and- 
was  about  to  re-enter  the  Opera  House,  when  Pierre  Louis 
Louvel,  having  knocked  down  the  aide-de-camp,  M.  de 
Beauffremont,  seizing  the  prince  by  the  arm,  plunged  a 
dagger  into  his  side.  The  duke  cried,  "  I  am  murdered  !  " 
The  duchess  jumped  out  of  the  carriage  with  her  lady, 
Mme  de  Béthizy,  and  she  herself  drew  out  the  dagger,  and 
was  covered  with  blood.  The  Due  and  Duchesse  d'An- 
goulême  were  summoned  at  once  with  the  Dues  de  Bour- 
bon and  d'Orléans,  and  at  5  a.m.  the  king  arrived,  to 
whom  the  Due  de  Berry  said  at  once,  "  Sire,  permettez 
que  la  dernière  grâce  que  je  vous  demande  soit  celle  de 
mon  assassin  !  "  Louis  XVIIL  only  answered,  "  Il  n'est 
plus  temps  de  parler  de  cela  -,  ne  songeons  qu'à  vous." 

"  *  Ah  !  you  do  not  s^y  yes,'  replied  the  duke,  with  an  accent 
of  painful  doubt.  '  Oh  !  say  it,  say  it,  that  I  may  die  in  peace  ! 
Mercy,  mercy,  spare  the  man's  life  !  '  .  .  .  He  died  a  few  mo- 
ments afterwards. 

"  He  died  in  the  act  of  pardon  ;  a  great  soul,  obscured  in 
life,  resplendent  in  death,  the  hero  of  clemency,  who,  at  the  first 
stroke,  did  what  is  the  most  difficult  and  the  most  meritorious  act 
of  man,  die  nobl)\" — Lamartine. 

Louvel  fled  by  the  Rue  de  Richelieu,  whence  he  tried 
to  reach  the  Rue  Vivienne  by  the  Passage  Colbert,  where 
he  was  arrested.  A  Chapelle  Expiatoire,  erected  in  the 
Rue  de  Richelieu  to  the  Due  de  Berry,  was  demolished,  in 
spite  of  the  eloquent  remonstrance  of  Balzac. 

The  Rue  Thérèse,  which  falls  into  the  Rue  de  Richelieu 
on  the  right,  commemorates  Marie  Thérèse,  queen  of 
Louis  XIV. 

A  fountain  erected  at  the  angle  of  the  Rues  de  la  Fon- 
taine Molière  and  de  Richelieu,  in  1844,  commemorates 
the  death  of  the  poet  in  the  house  of  the  tailor  Bandelet, 
the  opposite  house  (No.  34),  which  has  been  since  rebuilt. 


PALAIS  ROYAL 


509 


"  In  the  midst  of  the  ardent  activity  of  his  toils,  and  the  joys 
of  his  triumphs,  Molière  felt  his  life  ebbing  away.  On  the  17th 
Februar}^  1673,  he  had  to  play  in  Le  Malade  Imaginaiy-e  the  part 
of  Argan,  which  he  had  played  often  before.  As  he  sufTercd  from 
his  chest  more  than  usual,  his  friends  wished  to  persuade  him  not 
to  appear  on  the  stage  that  evening.  '  Eh  !  what  will  they  do,' 
he  replied,  '  tlie  poor  people  who  have  only  their  day's  work  to 
live  on?  I  should  reproach  myself  for  having  neglected  to  give 
them  their  bread  for  a  single  day,  if  I  could  possibly  do  it.'  lie 
pla)'ed  the  part,  and  in  the  divertissement,  when  he  uttered  the 
word  jure,  he  was  seized  by  a  convulsion,  which  he  vainly  strove 
to  conceal  by  a  forced  laugh.  He  was  carried  home.  He  began 
to  spit  blood  freely,  and  died  some  hours  afterwards  in  the  arms 
of  two  nuns,  who  had  come  to  beg  in  Paris  during  Lent,  and  to 
whom  he  had  given  the  hospitality  of  his  house.  He  was  fifty- 
one  years  old.  The  monarch  who  had  supported  him  during  his 
life  against  the  fanatic  zeal  of  the  devout,  ought  to  have  protected 
his  ashes  against  their  anathemas  and  insults.  But  the  prejudice 
then  existing  in  all  its  force  against  the  profession  of  the  play 
actor  did  not  permit  Louis  XIV.  any  license  to  pay  respect  to  the 
remains  of  the  great  man  who  had  glorified  his  reign.  Every 
church  was  closed  to  the  corpse  of  Molière,  and  it  was  only  by 
favor  that  it  could  be  conveyed,  without  pomp  or  honor,  to  the 
cemetery  of  St.  Joseph.  The  anathemas  of  the  clergy  had  drawn, 
on  the  day  of  the  funeral,  a  tumultuous  and  threatening  crowd 
about  his  house,  and  this  mob  would,  perhaps,  have  insulted  the 
corpse,  if  his  widow  in  alarm  had  not  thrown  some  money  out  of 
the  windows,  and  this  calmed  the  superstitious  rage  of  these 
wretches." — P.  le  Bas. 

No.  2^^  Rue  Fontaine  Molière  (formerly  Rue  Traver- 
siëre),  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  du  Clos-Georgeau,  was 
inhabited  by  Voltaire,  with  Mme  du  Châtelet,  "  la  sublime 
Emilie."  After  her  death,  in  1749,  Voltaire  shared  the 
house  with  Lekain,  the  actor. 

South  of  the  National  Library,  flights  of  steps  will  lead 
us  down  into  the  Palais  Royal.  It  was  built  by  Cardinal 
Richelieu  (1624-34),  and  known  at  first  as  Palais  Cardinal. 

"  Quelque  Amphion  nouveau,  sans  l'aide  des  maçons, 
En  superbes  palais  a  changé  ces  buissons  ; 


5IO  WALKS  IN  PARIS 

Paris  voit  tous  les  jours  de  ces  métamorphoses. 
Dans  tout  le  Pré-aux-Clercs  tu  verras  mêmes  choses. 
Et  l'univers  entier  ne  peut  rien  voir  d'égal 
Aux  superbes  dehors  du  palais  cardinal." 

Corneille,  ''''  Le  Menteur"  Act.  H.  se.  5. 

The  great  cardinal  died  here  December  4,  1642,  be- 
queathing his  palace  to  the  king,  Louis  XIII.,  who  only 
survived  him  five  months.  But  in  the  following  year 
Anne  of  Austria  came  to  live  here  with  her  two  children, 
Louis  XIV.,  then  aged  five,  and  Philippe  d'Orléans.  The 
Duchesse  d'Orléans  ^  declares  that,  during  her  residence 
here,  the  Queen  Regent,  not  contented  with  loving  Car- 
dinal Mazarin,  ended  by  marrying  him,  and  that  the  secret 
passage  by  which  he  reached  the  queen's  chamber  was  to 
be  seen  at  the  Palais  Royal  in  her  time.  When  Queen 
Anne  came  to  reside  in  it,  the  name  of  the  palace  was 
changed  to  Palais  Royal.  The  splendid  gallery,  with  a 
ceiling  by  Philippe  de  Champaigne,  which  had  been  built 
by  the  cardinal,  was  then  destroyed  :  it  occupied  the  site 
of  the  present  Rue  de  Valois,  and  was  called  La  Galerie 
des  Hommes  Illustres^  from  the  twenty-four  portraits  with 
which  It  was  hung,  amongst  which  the  cardinal  did  not 
scruple  to  include  his  own,  as  well  as  that  of  Louis  XIII. 
The  only  building  remaining  of  the  time  of  Richelieu  is 
part  of  the  second  court,  on  the  right,  adorned  by  doric 
pilasters. 

Henrietta  Maria,  Queen  of  England,  daughter  of 
Henri  IV.,  was  allowed,  in  her  exile,  to  reside  in  the 
Palais  Royal  with  her  daughter  Henrietta,  who  afterwards 
became  its  mistress,  as  the  wife  of  Philippe  I.,  Due  d'Or- 
léans, to  whom  it  was  given  by  Louis  XIV. 

Under  Philippe  II.  d'Orléans,  the  palace  became  the 

•  Mémoires  de  Madame. 


PALAIS  ROYAL  ^u 

scene  of  the  celebrated  suppers  and  orgies  which  disgraced 
the  Regency. 

"  He  was  accustomed  to  debauch,  and  still  more  to  the 
noise  of  debauch,  till  he  could  not  do  without  it,  and  found  no 
amusement  except  in  noise,  tumult,  and  excess.  It  was  this  tiuit 
led  him  to  such  strange  and  scandalous  orgies,  and,  as  if  he  would 
surpass  all  debauchees,  to  introduce  into  his  parties  the  most  im- 
pious discourses  and  to  find  a  precious  refinement  in  the  most 
extravagant  debauches,  on  the  holiest  days,  as  during  his  regency 
often  happened  when  he  chose  Good  Friday  or  other  days  most 
religiously  kept.  The  more  original,  old  or  extravagant  a  man 
was  in  impiety  and  debauchery,  the  more  he  admired  his  de- 
bauches, and  I  have  seen  him  incessantly  admiring  or  rather  ven- 
erating the  Grand  Prior  because  he  had  never  gone  to  bed  sober 
for  forty  years,  or  ceased  to  keep  women  openly,  or  to  talk  con- 
tinually impiously  and  irreligiously.  With  such  principles,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  he  was  false  to  the  indiscreetest  degree  of  boasts 
ing  to  be  so,  and  pluming  himself  on  being  a  subtle  deceiver. 

"  Madame  was  full  of  fairy  talcs.  She  used  to  say  that  all 
the  fairies  had  been  invited  to  her  lying-in,  that  all  had  come,  and 
each  had  given  her  son  a  talent,  such  as  they  possessed  ;  but,  un- 
fortunately, one  old  fairy  had  been  overlooked.  She  had  disap- 
peared so  long  ago  that  she  was  quite  forgotten,  and  this  fairy, 
piqued  by  this  neglect,  came,  leaning  on  her  little  staff,  just  after 
all  the  other  fairies  had  made  their  gifts  to  the  infant,  and,  being 
more  and  more  annoyed,  took  her  vengeance  by  rendering  abso- 
lutely useless  all  the  talents  received  from  the  other  fairies,  none 
of  which  he  was  ever  able  to  make  use  of,  although  he  retained 
them  all.  It  must  be  confessed,  that,  taking  it  in  the  whole,  it  is 
a  speaking  portrait." — St.  Simon,  ''Mémoires"  1715. 

Under  Louis  Philippey^randson  of  the  Regent  d'Or- 
le'ans)  a  great  part  of  the  palace  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
which  led  the  next  duke,  Louis  Philippe  Joseph  (Philippe 
Egalité),  father  of  King  Louis  Philippe,  to  design  great 
alterations,  including  the  arcades  surrounding  the  gardens, 
which  he  let  to  tradesmen,  thereby  making  his  palace  the 
most  magnificent  bazaar  in  the  world.  It  was  this  duke 
who  was  the  remorseless  enemy  of  Marie  Antoinette,  and 


^12  WALKS  IN  PARTS 

who  looked  unmoved  from  the  balcony  upon  the  head  of 
his  own  sister-in-law,  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe,  when  her 
assassins  brought  it  from  La  Force  to  be  exhibited  to  him. 

"The  Duke  of  Dorset  told  me,  that  as  early  as  1786,  or  1787, 
the  queen  (Marie  Antoinette)  had  said  to  him,  on  her  seeing  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  at  Versailles  :  '  Monsieur  le  Duc,  regardez  cet 
homme-là.  11  me  déteste,  et  il  a  juré  ma  perte.  Je  le  vois  dans 
ses  yeux,  toutes  les  fois  qu'il  me  fixe.  Il  ne  sera  jamais  content, 
jusqu'à  ce  qu'il  me  voit  étendue  morte  à  ses  pieds.'" — Wraxall's 
"  AI e moi r 5." 

The  duke  was  arrested  here,  April  4,  1793,  with  his 
third  son,  the  Comte  de  Beaujolais,  and  executed  on 
November  6. 

Under  the  first  consul  the  building  became  known  as 
Palais  du  Tribunat.  Lucien,  Prince  of  Canino,  inhabited 
it  during  the  hundred  days.  In  i8i4it  became  once  more 
the  Palais  Royal,  and  was  given  back  to  the  Orleans  family, 
who  restored  and  purified  it.  Hither,  in  July,  1830,  Louis 
Philippe,  prompted  by  his  ambitious  sister.  Mademoiselle 
d'Orléans,  came  from  Neuilly  to  receive  the  offer  of  the 
throne,  contrary  to  the  wish  of  the  duchess,  who  "lui  fit 
des  adieux  pleins  de  larmes,  comme  à  une  victime  qui  allait 
se  dévouer  au  salut  de  son  pays."  ^ 

In  the  revolution  of  1848  the  Palais  Royal  was  sacked 
by  the  people,  who  destroyed  most  of  the  works  of  art  it 
contained.  In  1852  it  became  the  residence  of  Jérôme 
Bonaparte,  ex-King  of  Westphalia,  after  whose  death,  in 
i860,  his  son  Prince  Jérôme  Napoléon,  resided  there  till 
September,  1870.  In  May,  i87i,a  great  part  of  the  palace 
was  burnt  by  the  Commune.  The  principal  buildings  are 
now  occupied  by  the  Conseil  d^Eiat,  the  Aile  Montpensier 
by  the  Coar  des   Comptes,  and  the  portion  of  the  Aile  de 

*  Trognon,   Vie  de  Marie  Amélie. 


PALAIS  ROYAL  513 

Valois  looking  upon  the  second  court  and  the  garden,  by 
the  Direction  des  Beaux-Arts.  The  interior  of  the  palace 
has  now  little  interest,  but  the  great  gravelly  square,  mis- 
named Jardin  du  Palais  Royal.,  surrounded  by  gay  arcades 
of  shops,  and  planted  with  lime-trees,  is  still  a  popular  re- 
sort, though  the  opening  of  the  Tuileries  gardens  under 
Louis  XVI.  deprived  it  of  its  glory,  which  reached  a 
climax  under  Louis  XIIL,  when  it  became  the  resort  of  all 
the  rich  citizens. 

"  On  voit  là,  étalé  dans  les  habits,  tout  ce  que  le  luxe  peut 
inventer  de  plus  tendre  et  de  plus  touchant.  Les  dames,  avec  les 
modes  toujours  nouvelles,  avec  leurs  ajustements,  leurs  rubans, 
leurs  pierreries  et  les  agréables  manières  de  s'habiller,  étalent 
dans  les  étoffes  d'or  et  d'argent  les  applications  de  leur  magnifi- 
cence. Les  hommes,  de  leur  côté,  aussi  vains  que  les  femmes, 
avec  leurs  plumes  et  leurs  perruques  blondes,  y  vont  chercher  à 
plaire  et  à  prendre  les  cœurs.  .  .  .  Dans  ce  lieu  si  agréable,  on 
raille,  on  parle  d'amour,  de  nouvelles,  d'affaires  et  de  guerre. 
On  décide,  on  critique,  on  dispute,  on  se  trompe  les  uns  les 
autres,  et  avec  cela  tout  le  monde  se  divertit." — Lettres  d'un 
Sicilien,  1692. 

The  surrounding  buildings,  by  Pierre  Louis  (1735- 
1807),  reproduce  in  effect  the  Procuratie  Nuove  of  the 
Piazza  St.  Marco  at  Venice. 

"Imagine  a  magnificent  château  with  the  lower  story  com- 
posed of  arcades,  and  beneath  these  arcades,  magazines  in  which 
gleam  the  treasures  of  India  and  America,  gold,  silver,  diamonds, 
&c.  ;  the  most  exquisite  productions  that  industry  has  brought 
forth  to  satisfy  and  charm  our  senses  ;  all  this  arranged  in  the 
most  picturesque  manner,  and  illuminated  with  magic  fires  that 
dazzle  the  spectator's  eyes  !  Imagine  these  galleries  filled  with 
a  crowd  that  comes  to  see  and,  above  all,  to  be  seen  !  There  are 
cafés,  well  frequented,  where  you  read  the  papers,  talk,  discuss, 
&c.  I  felt  giddy  ;  we  went  into  the  garden  of  the  palace  ;  there, 
calm  and  obscurity  reigned.  The  dim  light  from  the  arcades, 
falling  on  these  green  alleys,  was  absorbed  by  the  density  and 
motion  of  their  foliage.    We  heard,  in  the  distance,  the  languish- 


5 14  IVALKS  IN  PARIS 

ing  sounds  of  enchanting  music.  I  seemed  to  be  transported  to 
the  isle  of  Calypso  or  the  palace  of  Armida." — Kara77isine,  1790. 

"La  promenade  de  votre  maussade  Palais-Royal,  où  tous 
vos  arbres  sont  estropiés  en  tête  de  choux,  et  où  l'on  étouffe, 
quoiqu'on  ait  pris  tant  de  précaution  en  élaguant,  coupant, 
brisant,  gâtant  tout  pour  vous  donner  un  peu  d'air  et  de  l'es- 
pace."— Diderot,  **  Lettres  a  Mlle  Volland.'" 

"  For  several  hours,  the  toiling  population  of  the  suburbs 
has  been  asleep  ;  the  most  central  streets  are  silent  and  aban- 
doned to  the  light  of  the  lamps  ;  you  might  believe  the  city  com- 
pletely buried  in  repose  ;  but,  on  approaching  the  Palais  Royal, 
your  eyes  and  your  ears  are  astonished  ;  your  senses,  lately 
numbed,  awake,  and  when  you  enter  its  precincts,  you  find  it 
still  full  of  life  and  resplendent  with  light  ;  it  is  the  heart  which 
remains  warm,  long  after  the  extremities  have  grown  cold." — 
^^ Paris,  ou  le  livre  des  cent-et-ti7t." 

It  was  in  the  garden  of  the  Palais  Royal  that  (July  13, 
1789)  Camille  Desmoulins,  mounting  upon  a  table,  called 
the  crowd  to  arms,  and  bade  them  assume  a  green  cockade 
supplied  by  the  leaves  from  the  trees — in  sign  of  hope. 

The  Palais  Royal  has  always  been  celebrated  for  its 
restaurants  and  gaming-tables. 

"  If  Spain  has  its  bull-fights  and  Rome  had  its  gladiators, 
Paris  boasts  of  its  Palais  Royal,  whose  fascinating  roulette  tables 
give  you  the  pleasure  of  seeing  blood  flow  in  streams,  without 
any  fear  of  finding  your  foot  slip  in  it.  Cast  a  glance  on  this 
arena  ;  enter.  .  .  .  What  nakedness  !  The  walls,  covered  with 
a  gray  paper  the  height  of  a  man,  present  nothing  that  can 
cheer  the  soul.  There  is  not  even  a  nail  to  facilitate  suicide. 
The  floor  is  worn  and  dirty.  An  oblong  table  occupies  the 
centre  of  the  room.  The  simple  straw  chairs,  crowded  around 
this  cloth,  frayed  by  gold-pieces,  betray  a  curious  indifference 
to  luxury  among  the  men  who  come  to  perish  there  for  fortune 
and  for  luxur)'." — Balzac,  "  Le  peau  de  chagrin." 

Richelieu  spent  200,000  crowns  upon  producing  his 
own  play  of  Mirame  in  the  theatre  of  the  Palais  Royal, 
and  was  furious  at  its  being  unappreciated. 

"Sur  ce  théâtre,  en   1636,  parut  la  tragédie  du    Cid,  qui,  en 


HOTEL   DE   RAMIWUILLET  515 

1639,  ^^^  suivi  des  Horaces  et  de  Cinna.  Ainsi,  ce  tliéâtre,  favo- 
risé par  un  puissant  protecteur,  fut  presqu'en  môme  temps  le 
berceau  et  le  char  triomphal  de  la  tragédie." — Dulaure. 

The  site  which  was  bought  by  Cardinal  Richelieu  for 
the  Palais  Royal  was  previously  occupied  by  the  Hôtel  de 
Mercœur,  and  by  the  famous  Hôtel  de  Rambouillet  (for- 
merly Hôtel  Pisani),  where,  in  the  midst  of  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIV.,  Catherine  de  Vivonne,  Marquise  de  Ram- 
bouillet, created  the  famous  literary  society — the  bel-esprit 
coteries — which  flourished  from  1620  to  1630. 

"  A  select  society  sprang  up,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  in 
the  bosom  of  the  capital  ;  it  united  the  two  sexes  by  new  tics  and 
new  affections,  it  brought  together  the  distinguished  men  of  the 
court  and  the  town,  the  men  of  the  polite  world,  and  men  of 
letters  ;  it  created  refined  and  noble  manners  amid  the  most  dis- 
gusting dissipation  ;  it  reformed  and  enriched  the  language,  pre- 
pared the  flight  of  a  new  literature,  and  raised  the  soul  to  the 
feeling  and  the  need  of  pleasures  unknown  to  the  vulgar." — 
Roederer. 

"  All  who  frequented  the  Hôtel  de  Rambouillet  soon  adopted 
nobler  manners  and  purer  language,  devoid  of  provincialism. 
The  women  in  particular,  to  whom  more  leisure  and  a  more  deli- 
cate organization  give  a  readier  and  finer  social  tact,  were  the 
first  to  profit  by  the  advantage  which  was  offered  them  by  this 
constant  community  of  cultivated  minds  and  association  of  per- 
sons unceasingly  occupied  in  emulating  what  was  most  agreeable 
and  fitted  to  please  in  each.  Consequently  those  who  formed 
part  of  these  assemblies  speedily  became  easily  distinguishable 
from  those  who  were  not  admitted  to  them.  To  show  the  esteem 
in  which  they  were  held,  they  were  named  the  Précieuses,  the  Illus- 
trious :  which  was  always  given  and  received  as  an  honorable 
distinction  during  the  long  space  of  time  that  the  Hôtel  de  Ram- 
bouillet retained  its  influence." — Walckenaer. 

Here  that  "  art  of  society,"  for  which  France  (and  Paris 
especially)  has  since  become  so  celebrated,  was  first  culti- 
vated. 

"  It  was  here  that  conversation  real!)'-  had  its  birth  ;  that  charm- 
ing art  whose  rule  cannot  be  formulated,  which  is  learned,  at  the 


5i6  IVALKS  IN-  PARIS 

same  time,  by  tradition,  and  by  an  innate  feeling  for  what  is  re- 
fined and  agreeable  ;  where  kindness,  simplicity,  polish,  even 
etiquette  and  knowledge  of  social  customs,  variety  of  tone  and 
subject,  the  shock  of  different  ideas,  piquant  or  animated  stories, 
a  certain  fashion  of  speaking  and  narrating  witty  sayings  that 
can  be  repeated,  refinement,  grace,  sly  wit,  openness  and  origi- 
nality, were  incessantly  mingled  together,  and  form  one  of  the 
most  keen  pleasures  which  delicate  spirits  can  taste." — M.  de 
Noailles} 

"The  number  of  frequenters  of  the  house  was  at  first  re- 
stricted ;  they  were  received  either  in  one  of  the  cabinets  or  in 
the  bedroom,  and,  around  the  circle  formed  in  the  centre  of  the 
room,  three  or  four  screens  were  spread  open,  to  keep  off  the  cur- 
rents of  air  from  those  seated  ;  for  there  was  never  any  fire  on  the 
hearth,  even  in  mid-winter,  Mme  de  Rambouillet  not  being  able 
to  support  the  heat  of  a  fire.  Moreover,  the  tapestries  that  cov- 
ered the  floor  and  adorned  the  walls  checked  all  sensation  of 
cold  from  without.  There  were  ten  chairs  in  each  cabinet,  and 
eighteen  in  the  bedroom.  These  seats  were,  according  to  the 
definition  in  the  Dictionary  of  Furetière,  '  chairs  with  backs  and 
arms,  chairs  with  a  back  only,  and  seats  and  stools  without 
either.'  The  bedroom  did  not  yet,  as  the  fashion  did  later,  ad- 
mit intimate  visitors  to  the  ruelle,  a  space  reserved  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  bed,  and  separated  from  the  room  by  a  balustrade." 
— Paul  Lacroix. 

The  taste  of  the  time  as  to  building  as  well  as  living, 

was  to  a  great  extent  guided  by  Mme  de  Rambouillet. 

"C'est  d'elle  qu'on  a  appris  à  mettre  les  escaliers  à  costé, 
pour  avoir  une  grande  suite  de  chambres  ;  à  exhausser  les  plan- 
chers et  à  faire  des  portes  et  des  fenestres  hautes  et  larges  et  vis- 
à-vis  les  unes  des  autres.  Et  cela  est  si  vray  que  la  reine-mère, 
quand  elle  fit  bastir  le  Luxembourg,  ordonna  aux  architectes 
d'aller  voir  l'hostel  de  Rambouillet,  et  ce  soing  ne  leur  fut  pas 
inutile.  C'est  la  première  qui  s'est  avisée  de  faire  peindre  une 
chambre  d'autre  couleur  que  de  rouge  ou  de  tanné." — Tallema^it 
des  Re'aîix. 

The  personal  charm  of  Mme  de  Rambouillet  is  re- 
corded by  her  contemporaries. 

*  Hist,  de  Mnte  de  Maintenon  èi  des  principaux  événements  du  rcgne  de 
Louis  XIV. ^  par  le  Duc  de  Noailles. 


THÉÂTRE  FRANÇAIS  ciy 

"  She  was  kind  and  courteous,  and  had  an  upright  and  just 
disposition.  She  it  was  who  corrected  the  bad  habits  that  existed 
before  her,  and  taught  politeness  to  all  of  her  contemporaries 
who  visited  her.  She  was,  too,  a  good  friend,  and  obliged  all 
the  world." — Scgrais. 

In  her  old  age,  Mme  de  Rambouillet  was  partially  con- 
fined to  her  bed,  but  established  in  her  bedchamber  a 
great  alcove,  to  which  she  admitted  a  few  of  the  friends 
who  came  to  see  her.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  alcoves, 
which  became,  both  in  Paris  and  the  provinces,  the  inti- 
mate centres  of  familiar  conversation. 

'"  The  Hôtel  de  Rambouillet  still  preserved  its  old  reputation, 
although  it  had  decidedly  changed  its  physiognomy.  Mme  de 
Montausier  and  her  husband  only  appeared  occasionally  ;  the 
great  ladies  and  the  women  of  wit,  who  used  to  shine  there,  were 
seen  but  rarely  :  the  Duchess  of  Longueville  and  her  daughter, 
Mme  de  Nemours,  Mme  de  Sablé  and  Mlle  de  Scudéry.  The 
Duke  de  Rochefoucauld  came  only  when  passing  ;  he  met  there 
his  old  friends.  Gombauld,  Chapelain,  Ménage,  Courart,  La- 
mothe  de  Vayer,  Habert  de  Montmor,  Balzac,  who  died  in  1654, 
and  Racan,  had  entirely  abandoned  the  scene  of  their  early  suc- 
cesses ;  Corneille  and  Georges  de  Scudéry  lived  in  the  country, 
and  appeared  sometimes  for  a  moment.  Ménage  brought  there 
his  pupil,  the  spirituelle  Marquise  de  Sévigné,  whose  entry  to  the 
Hôtel  de  Rambouillet  was  a  triumph  ;  but  it  was  no  longer  the 
Hôtel  de  Rambouillet  of  other  days  ;  the  air  and  tone  had 
changed  ;  prudery,  a  dr}%  icy  prudery,  had  invaded  this  sanctuary 
of  good  company,  as  if  to  protest  against  the  frivolity  and  flip- 
pancy of  the  young  court.  Still,  it  was  the  most  glorious  time  of 
the  reign  of  the  pr/cietises ." — Paul  Lacroix. 

Adjoining  the  Place  du  Palais  Royal  is  the  small  Place 
du  Theatre  Français,  containing  that  famous  Theatre,  built 
1782,  but  much  altered  since.  In  its  vestibule  is  a  statue 
of  Talma,  by  David  d'Angers. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abbattoir,  le  Grand,  491 

Abbaye  aux  Bois,  425 

de  Longchamp,  465 
St.  Geneviève,  352 
St.  Victor,  341 

Académie  Française,  391 

Allée  des  Orangers,  26 

de  l'Observatoire,  326 

Arc  du  Carrousel,  41 
de  l'Etoile,  459 

Archevêché,  307 

Archives  Nationales,  143 

Arsenal,  208 

Auteuil,  458 

Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne, 

463.  465 
des    Champs    Elysées, 

450 
deConstantine,279,  280 
d'Eylau,  463 
des  Gobelins,  314 
Kleber,  453 
d'Italie,  315 
M  al  a  k  off,  463 
Montaigne,  453 
de  Neuilly,  460 
du  Trocadéro,  456 
Victoria,  229 

B. 

Bagatelle,  château  de,  466 
Banque  de  France,  503 
Barrière  d'Enfer,  327 
d'Italie,  315 


Bastille,  the,  186,  187 
Baths,  Roman,  365 
Batignolles,  476 
Beaux  Arts,  palais,  &c.,  387 
Belleville,  493 

Bibliothèque  de  l'Arsenal,  210 
Mazarine,  392 
Nationale,  497 
de  Paulmy,  210 
St.  Geneviève,  357 
Bicêtre,  325 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  463 
Boulevard  Beaumarchais,  186 

Bonne  Nouvelle,  486 
des  Capucines,  475 
de  Clichy,  481 
des    Filles    de   Cal- 
vaire, 186 
Henri  IV.  189 
de  l'Hôpital,  314 
d'Italie,  314 
des  Italiens,  478 
de     la      Madeleine, 

475 
Magenta,  490 
Malesherbes,  469 
Mazas,  250 
Monceaux,  469 
Montmartre,  486 
Montparnasse,  328 
Poissonnière,  486 
du  Port  Royal,  324 
St.  Denis,  493 
St.  Germain,  333 
St.  Marcel,  314 
St.  Martin,  493 
St.  Michel,  333,  363 


S20 


INDEX 


Boulevard  de    Sébastopol,    133, 
490 
de  Strasbourg,  490 
du  Temple,  495 
Boulogne,  Bois  de,  463 
Bourse,  la,  496 
British  Embassy,  471 
Butte  Chaumont  491 

Montmartre,  482 
Mortemart,  465 
St.  Roch,  506 

C. 

Cabaret  du  Roi  Clovis,  351 
Café  Parisien,  493 
Procope,  385 
Riche,  478 
Carrefour   de  la  Croix    Rouge, 
424 
Gaillon,  478 
Longchamp,  466 
Carrés  d'Atalante,  27 
Carrousel,  Place  du,  41 
Caserne  de  la  Cité,  280 

des  Pompiers,  340 
Catacombs,  327 
Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  289 
Ceinture  St.  Eloi,  280 
Chambre  des  Députés,  436 
Chambre  des  Martyrs,  426 
Champ  de  Mai,  436 
de  Mars,  435 
Champs  Elysées,  450 
Chapelle  Expiatoire,  471 
Sainte,  272 
St.  Eloy,  230 
St.  Ferdinand,  460 
St.  Joseph,  126 
St.   Martin    le  Vieux, 

390 

St.  Michel,  117 

St.  Yves,  337 
Château  de  Bagatelle,  466 
d'Eau,  496 
des  Fleurs,  458 
de  la  Muette,  463 
Madrid,  467 
de  Neuilly,  462 
Rouge,  484 


Châtelet,  le  Grand,  228 

le  Petit,  335 
Chaumière,  la  Grande,  328 
Chaussée,  d'Antin,  476 
Chevaux  de  Marly,  450 
Church.      See  Eglise. 
Cimetière — 

des  Innocents,  117 
St.  Jean,  117 
St.  Joseph,  486 
de  la  Madeleine,  471 
St.  Marguerite,  245 
St.  Médard,  316 
Montmartre,  481 
Montparnasse,  328 
Père  Lachaise,  239 
de  Picpus,  249 
de  Vaugirard,  411 
Vert,  117 
Cité,  island  of  La,  251 
Cloître  des  Billettes,  145 
St.  Benoît,  359 
Notre  Dame,  308 
St.  Séverin,  373 
Cluny,  Hôtel  de,  365 
Collège  d'Arras,  342 
d'Auîun,  378 
Ave  Maria,  ,345 
de  Bay  eux,  364 
St.  Barbe,  357 
de  Beau  vais,  342 
de  Boissi,  378 
de  Boncourt,  345 
des  Bons  Enfants,  341 
de  Bourgogne,  384 
de  Cambrai,  360 
de   Cardinal    Lemoine, 

340 
de  Chanac,  337 
des  Cholets,  358 
de  Clermont,  359 
de  Cluny,  364 
de  Cornouailles,  337 
des  Ecossais,  351 
St.  Etienne  des  Grès, 358 
de  Fortet,  358 
de  France,  360 
des  Grassins,  345 
de  Huban,  345 
de  Justice,  364 


INDEX 


521 


Collège  des  Lombards,  343 
Louis  le  Grand,  358 
de  Maître  Gervais,  373 
de  la  Marche,  345 
de  Mans,  359 
de  Marmoutier,  359 
de  la  Merci,  344 
St.  Michel,  337 
de  Mignon,  379 
de  Montaigu,  357 
de  Narbonne,  364 
de  Navarre,  345 
de  Plessis,  359 
de  Presles,  343 
de  Reims,  358 
Sts,  Come  et  Damien, 

364 
de  Secy,  364 
Sorbonne,  360 
de  Tournai,  345 
de  Tours,  379 
de  Tréquier,  360 
du  Trésorier,  364 
Colonnade  du  Louvre,  41 
Colonne  de  la  Halle  de  Blé,  115 
de  l'Hôtel  de  Soissons, 

115 
de  Juillet,  186,  188 
de  Vendôme,  439 
Comédie  Française,  129 
Commanderie    St.  Jean  de  La- 

tran,  343 
Conciergerie,  La,  269 
Concorde,  Place  de  la,  443 
Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Mé- 
tiers, 136 
de  Musique,  486 
Cour  de  Commerce,  380 
des  Fermes,  505 
de  Mai,  264,267 
de  Miracles,  489 
du  Mûrier,  389 
de  Rohan,  380 
Couvent  (Convent) — 
des  Augustines,  488 
des  Augustins  déchaussés, 

501 
de  l'Ave  Maria,  196 
des    Bénédictins    Anglais, 
330 


Couvent  (Convent) — 

des  liernardins,  340 

des  Capucines,  441 

des  Capucins,  439 

du    Fauburg  St. 
Jacques,  329 

des  Carmélites,  322 

des  Carmes,  344 

des  Carmes  (of  the  Rue  de 
Vaugirard),  408 

des  Célestins,  198 

du  Chardonnet,  340 

des  Chartreux,  324 

des  Cordeliers,  380 

des  Feuillants,  26,  439 

des  Feuillantines,  330 

Filles  Dieu,  489 

des  Jacobins,  356 

Les  Mathurins,  373 

Montmartre,  485 

Notre  Dame  de  Pentémont, 
429 

des  Petits   Augustins,  388 

des  Petits  Pères,  501 

Picpus,  248 

Port  Royal,  325 

St.  Jean  de  Dieu,  390 

du  Sacré  Cœur,  249 

des  Ursulines,  330 
Croix  Catelan,  467 

du  Trahoir,  112 
Cuisines  de  St.  Louis,  265 

D. 

Domus  Marmosctorum,  283 
Duval,  Restaurants,  15 

E. 

Ecole  des  Arts  et  Manufactures, 
158 
des  Beaux  Arts,  387 
de  Dessin,  383 
de  Droit,  343 
de  Médecine,  383 
Militaire,  435 
Polytechnique,  345 

Eglise  (Church)— 
Sacré  (^œur,  484 


522 


INDEX 


Eglise  (Church)— 
St.  Agnan,  286 
St.  André  des  Arts,  378 
Assomption,  442 
St.  Augustin,  469 
St.  Barthélémy,  280 
St.  Benoît,  359 
des  Billettes,  145 
St.  Catherine,  280 

du  Val  des  Eco- 
liers,174 
St.  Clotilde,  430 
des  Cordeliers,  380 
St.  Denis  de  la  Chartre,  280 
du  Sacrement,  175 
St.  Elizabeth,  157 
St.  Eloi,  281 

St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  345 
des  Grès,  358 
St.  Eustache,  121 
St.  François  Xavier,  426 
St.  Geneviève,  352 

des  Ardents, 
289 
St.  Germain  rAuxerrois,ioo 
des  Prés,  415 
le  Vieux,  283 
Sts.  Gervais  et  Protais, 218 
St.  Hilaire,  344 
St.  Jacques  du  Haut  Pas, 331 
de  la   Bûcherie, 
227 
St.  Jean  Baptiste,  493 
en  Grève,  221 
le  Rond,  309 
Sts.  Jean  et  François,  145 
St.  julien  le  Pauvre,  335 
St.  Landry,  285 
St.  Laurent,  490 
Sts.  Leu  et  Gilles,  131 
St.  Louis  des  Invalides,  431 

en  risle,  310 
St.  Luc,  284 
La  Madeleine,  473 

on  the  Island, 
281 
St.  Magloire,  132 
St.  Marcel,  319 
St.  Marguerite,  245 
St.  Marie  l'Egyptienne,  126 


Eglise  (Church)— 
St.  Marine,  287 
St.  Médard,  316 
St.  Merri,  134 

St.  Nicolas  des  Champs,  136 
du  Chardonnet, 
338 
Notre  Dame,  289 

des  Anges,  191 
des  Blancs  Man- 
teaux, 480 
des    Carmélites, 

322 
de  Lorette,  479 
des  Victoires,  501 
L'Oratoire,  m 
Sts.  Paul  et  Louis,  212 
St.  Paul  des  Champs,  194 
St.  Philippe  du  Roule,  470 
St.  Pierre  aux  Bœufs,  286 
de     Montmartre, 
484 
St.  Roch,  107 
St.  Séverin,  373 
St.  Sulpice,  413 
St.  Symphorien,  280 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  428 
du  Louvre,  42 
La  Trinité,  476 
Val  de  Grâce,  320 
Visitation,  191 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  486 
Egouts,  Les,  230 
Elephant  of  the  Bastille,  188 
Elysée,  Palais  de  1',  470 
Embassy,  British,  471 


F. 


Faubourg,  St.  Antoine,  234 
St.  Germain,  386 
St.  Honoré,  469 
St.  Marcel,  312 
Fontaine  (Fountain) — 

de  la  Croix  du  Trahoir,  112 

Gaillon,  478 

de  Grenelle,  428 

des  Innocents,  119 

Louvois,  507 

St.  Michel,  376 


INDEX 


523 


Fontaine  (Fountain) — 
de  Medicis,  404 
Molière,  509 
de  la  Samaritaine,  253 
St.  Sulpice,  415 
de  la  Victoire,  228 

For  l'Evêque,  230 


Galerie  Marchande,  267 

Mazarine,  500 
Garde-Meuble,  436 
Grand  Jeusneur,  Le,  288 
Grande  Orberie,  283 
Grange  Batelière,  487 

St.  Eloy,  194 
Grenouillière,  La,  436 
Guichets  des  St.  Pères,  40 

H. 

Halle  de  Beauce,  282 
au  Blé,  114 
aux  Vins,  312 
Halles  Centrales,  116 
Hôpital  (Hospital)— 
Bicêtre,  325 
La  Charité,  390 
des  Enfants  Trouvés,  288 
de  l'Hôtel  Dieu,  283,  287 
Lariboisière,  487 
des  Ménages,  425 
de  la  Pitié,  313 
des  Quinze-Vingts,  250 
St.  Antoine,  250 
St.  Louis,  495 
de  la  Salpêtrière,  314 
des  Sourds-Muets,  331 
Val  de  Grâce,  320 
des  Vénériens,  329 
Hôtel  Aguado,  486 
d'Aligré,  429 
d'AngouIême,  167 
d'Aubray,  205 
d'Aubriot,  214 
d'Aumont,  40,  217 
de  Bahaigue,  115 
Barbette,  162 
de  Mme  du  Barri,  126 


Hôtel  de  Beauce,  282 
de  Beauvais,  193 
Béranger,  430 
de  Béthizy,  113 
de  Béthune,  192 
de  Bczcnval,  430 
de  Biron,  428 
de  Boisboudrand,  148 
de  Boissy,  191 
de  Bouchage,  m 
de  Boufflers,  149 
de  Bouillon,  386 
de  Boulainvilliers,  477 
de  Bourbon,  100 
de  Bourgogne,  127 
de  Bretagne,  203 
de  Brissac,  407,  430 
de  Bullion,  110 
de  Canaleilles,  428 
Carnavalet,  170 
de  Châlons-Luxembourg, 

217 
Charost,  471 
du  Châtelet,  430 
de  Châtillon,  168,  427 
du    Chevalier    du    Guet, 

230 
Chivry,  498 
de  Choiseul,  487 
de  Clavigny,  286 
de  Clérambault,  504 
de  Clisson,  141 
de  Cluny,  365 
du  Commandeur  de  Jars, 

507 
de  Condé,  100,  505 
Conti,  429 
de  la  Cour  des  Comptes, 

279 
de  Créqui,  389. 
Crozat,  479 
de  Dangeau,  174,  182 
Dieu,  287 

du  Duc  de  Maine,  209 
de  la  Duchesse  d'Orléans, 

429 
de  la  Duchesse  de  Savoie, 

412 
d'Ecquevilly,  176 
d'Emery,  502 


524 


INDEX 


Hôtel  de  l'Empereur  Joseph,  407 
d'Epergnon,  iio 
de  Fecamp,  378 
des  Fermes,  iio,  506 
de  Ferrière,  iio 
Fieubet,  206 
de  Fontenay,  159 
Forbin,  430 
de  la  Force,  168 
Fould,  471 
Furtado,  471 
de  Grammont,  429 
du  Grand  Prieur,  148 
de  Graville,  214 
de  Gaucher,  168 
de  Guéménée,  184 
de  Guise,  148 
de  Harcourt,  373 
de  Hennisdal,  407 
d'Herbouville,  168 
d'Hercule,  377 
d'Herwert,  iio 
de  Hollande,  160 
de  la  Houze,  168 
de  l'Infantado,  441 
de  l'Intendant  Foucault, 

507 
des  Invalides,  430 
Janson,  430 

de  Jeanne  d'Albret,  166 
de  Juigné,  386 
Lambert,  310 
de  Lamoignon,  166 
de  Lauzun,  311 
de  Laval,  141,  142 
de  Lavalette,  206 
de  Lesdiguières,  206 
des  Lions  du  Roi,  205 
de  Longueville,  42 
de  Lyonne,  507 
de  Luynes,  428 
de  Marbœuf,  471 
de  Marion  de  Lorme,  181 
de  Matignon,  428 
de  Mayenne,  191 
de  Mazarin,  389 
de  Mesmes,  139 
de  la  Miséricorde,  141 
de  Mme  de    La  Fayette, 

407 


Hôtel  Monaco,  428 

de  la  Monnaie,  395 
de  Montpcnsier,  m 
des  Mousquetaires  Noirs, 

250 
de  Nesle,  114,  390,  393 
Nesmond,  312 
Nicolai,  184 
de   Ninon    de   l'Enclos, 

1S5 
Nivernais,  407 
d'Orléans,  115 
d'Ormesson,  191 
d'Orsay,  428 
de  Penthièvre,  504 
de  Périgord,  429 
Petit  de  Conti,  395 
du  Petit-Musc,  191 
de  Pimodan,  311 
Pompéien,  453 
Pontchartrain,  507 
de  Ponthieu,  113 
du  Porc-épic,  214 
des  Postes,  502 
Pourtalès,  474 
du  Prévôt  de  Paris,  214 
des  Princes,  115 
des  Ranes,  390 
de  la  Reine-Mère,  115 
de  René  d'Argouges,  413 
de  Richelieu,  182,  184 
de  Roche-Guyon,  141 
de  Rohan,  141,  159 
de  Royaumont,  126 
de  St.  Aignan,  139 
de  St.  Géran,  184 
de  St.  Paul,  201 
de  St.  Pouange,  506 
Salé,  158 
de  Savoisi,  168 
Séguier,  506 
de  Senneterre,  502 
de  Sens,  210 
de  Soissons,  115,  505 
de  Soubise,  142 
de  Sully,  192 
de  Tallard,  157 
de  Talleyrand,  441 
de  Torpane,  339 
âe  Toulouse,  425,  504 


INDEX 


525 


Hôtel  de  Tourncllcs,  177 

de  la  Trémouille,  116 

Tubeuf,  498 

de  Turenne,  411 

des  Ursins,  285 

Valentinois,  457 

des    Ventes     Mobilières, 

486 
de  Vicuville,  204 
de  Ville,  221 
de  Villcquier,  40 
de  Vitty,  176 
de  la  Vrillière,  441 

I. 

Imprimerie  Nationale,  159 

Institut  de  France,  390 

Invalides,  Hôtel  des,  430 

Isle  de  la  Cité,  251,  258 
aux  Javiaux,  251 
de  la  Gourdaine,  251 
St.  Louis,  309 
aux  Treilles,  251,  257 

J. 

Jardin  d'Acclimatation,  468 
des  Plantes,  312 
du  Luxembourg,  403 
du  Palais  Royal,  513 
des  Tuileries,  24 


Longchamp,  465 
Louvre,  the,  36-99 

Colonnade  du,  41 
Escalier  Daru,  82 
Çralerie  d'Apollon,  50 
Grande,  65 
Mollien,  79 
Guichets  des  St  Pères, 

40 
Musée  des  Antiquités 
Grecques,  83 
Assyrien,  97 
Campana,  83 
Caze,  La,  47 
de    Chalcographie, 
97 


Louvre,  the — 

Musée  Charles  X.,  83 
Chinois,  86 
des  Desseins,  85 
Egyptien,  84,  97 
Ethnographique, 

86 
Français,  77 
Français  Moderne, 

81 
de  Gravure,  97 
de  Marine,  86 
du     Moyen     Age, 

85 
de  la  Renaissance, 

85 
de  Sculpture,  86 
de  Sculpture  Egyp- 
tienne, 97 
de    Sculpture  Mo- 
derne Française, 
97 
de     Sculpture     du 

Moyen  Age,  91 
des  Souverains,  84 
Pavillon  Denon,  81,  86 
de  Flore,  40 
des  Lesdiguières, 

42 
du  Roi,  38,  48 
Salle  des  Antiquités  Grec- 
ques, 83 
des  Antonins,  87 
d'Apis,  97 
des  Auguicr,  95 
d'Auguste,  87 
des  Bronzes,  83,  86 
des  Cariatides,  90 
Carrée,  51 

des  Cent  Suisses,  90 
de  Chaudet,  99 
de     la     Cheminée     de 

Bruges,  95 
de  Coustou,  98 
de  Coysevox,  98 
d'Eustache  Lesueur,  77 
des  Gardes,  90 
du  Gladiateur,  88 
de  Henri  IL,  48 
de  Henri  IV.,  97 


526 


INDEX 


Louvre — 

Salle  d'Hercule  et  Télèphe, 
90 
de  Houdon,  98 
de  Jean  Goujon,  91 
de  Mécène,  86 
de  Médée,  90 
de  Melpomene,  88 
de  Michel-Ange,  93 
de  la  Paix,  87 
de  Pallas,  88 
de  Phidias,  87 
de  la  Ps3^ché,  89 
de  Puget,  98 
de  la  Rotonde,  86 
de  Rude,  99 
des  Saisons,  86 
des  Séances,  47 
des  Sept  Cheminées,  48 
de  Septime  Sévère,  87 
des  Sept  Mètres,  61 
des  Vases  Corinthiens, 

83 
de  Vénus  de  Milo,  88 

Luxembourg,  Palais  de,  396 

Lycée  Henri  IV.,  352 

Louis  le  Grand,  358 
St.  Louis,  364 


M. 


Madeleine,  La,  473 
Madrid,  château  de,  467 
Maison  (House) — 

de  l'Abbé  de  l'Epée,  478 

Blanche,  315 

de  Cagliostro,  503 

de  Calvin,  105 

de  Colbert,  502 

de  la  Croix  rouge,  130 

de  Desmarteaux,  360 

Dorée,  478 

du  Doyen,  100 

d'Education    Correctionelle, 

239 
d'Etienne  Marcel,  105 
de  François  L,  453 
de  François  Ra5mer,  iio 
de  Franklin,  457 


Maison  (House) — 

de  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau, 

iio 
de  Jules  Janin,  457 
de  Lamartine,  456 
de  Lauzun,  457 
de  Lulli,  506 
de  Marat,  385 
de  Mme  Lebrun,  503 
de  Mme  Mohl,  426 
Molière,  508 
de  M.  d'Etoiles,  489 
du  Paradis,  282 
aux  Piliers,  222 
de  la  Reine  Blanche,  315 
de  Rigaud,  477 
de  Robespierre,  442 
de  Rollin,  488 
de  Rossini,  456 
de  Sophie  Arnauld,  114 
M.  Thiers,  481 
de  Voltaire,  453,  508 
Manufacture  des  Gobelins,   314 

des  Tabacs,  436 
Marais,  161 

Marché  des    Blancs  Manteaux, 
160 
des  Carmes,  344 
aux  Fleurs,  474 
aux  Innocents,  117 
Neuf,  283 

aux  Pourceaux,  480 
St.  Germain,  415 
Ménilmontant,  244 
Micra  Madiana,  280 
Ministère  de  Marine,  443 
Missions  Etrangères,  426 
Monastère  (Monastery) — 
des  Carmélites,  324 
des  Carmes,  408* 
St.  Eloi,  280 
Monceaux,  Parc  de,  468 
Mons  Cetardus,  319 
Martyrum,  482 
Montfaucon,  492 
Mont  de  Pieté,  480 
Valérien,  463 
Montmartre,  481 
Montparnasse,     Cimetière    de, 
328 


INDEX 


527 


Morgue,  307 

Muette,  La,  457 

Musée  des  Archives,  143 

d'Artillerie,  435 

Dupuytrcn,  380 

Carnavalet,  174 

de  Cluny,  368 

de  Galliera,  456 

Ethnographique,  454 

of  Hydraulic  Machinery, 

139 
du  Louvre,  46 
des    Monuments    Fran- 
çais, 388 
des  Moulages,  454 
Sigillographique,  144 
des  Thermes,  372 
des  Voitures,  371 


N. 


432 


Napoléon,  tombeau 
Neuill3\  462 
Nouvelles  Athènes,  480 

O. 

Obelisk    of   Place    de   la    Con- 
corde, 449 
Observatoire,  326 
Odéon,  406 
Opera,  475 
Oratoire,  The,  m 


Palais  (Palace) — 

of  the  Abbot  of  St.  Germain 

des  Prés,  421 
Archiépiscopal,  306,  430 
des  Beaux  Arts,  387 
Cardinal,  159 
de  la  Cité,  200-268 
du  Corps  Législatif,  436 
de  l'Elysée,  470 
de  l'Industrie,  453 
de  l'Institut,  392 
of  Julian  the  Apostate,  260 
de  Justice,  266 
de  la  Légion  d'Honneur,  436 


Palais  (Palace)— 
du  Louvre,  36 
du  Luxembourg,  396 
Royal,  509 
des  Thermes,  372 
des  Tournelles,  177 
du  Trocadéro,  453 
des  Tuileries,  18 
Pantheon,  352 

Parc  des  Buttes  Chaumont,  491 
Monceaux,  468 
des  Tournelles,   178 
Parvis  Notre  Dame,  288 
Passage  du  Caire,  489 

Charlemagne,  214 
Colbert,  508 
des  Panoramcs,  135 
Passy,  457 
Pavillon  de  Flore,  40 

d'Hanovre,  476 
de  Lesdiguières,  42 
de  Rohan,  41 
Pays-Latin,  333 
Père  Lachaise,  239 
Pharmacie  Générale,  217 
Picpus,  Cimitière  de,  249 
Piliers  aux  Halles,  119 
Place  de  la  Bastille.  186 
Baudoyer,  131 
de  Bellechasse,  430 
de  la  Bourse,  496 
du  Carrousel,  41 
du  Château  d'Eau,  496 
du  Châtelet,  228,  230 
de  la  Concorde,  443 
Dauphine,  258 
de  l'Ecole,  105 
de  Grève,  224 
de  l'Hôtel  de  Ville,  224 
Lafayette,  486 
Louis  XV.,  443 
Louvois,  507 
Maubert,  337 
de  la  Nation,  246 
Notre  Dame,  307 
de  l'Opéra,  441 
du  Parvis  Notre  Dame, 288 
du  Palais  Royal,  517 
.du  Petit  Pont,  335 
de  la  République,  496 


528 


INDEX 


Place  R03^ale,  i8o,  184 

St.  André  des  Arts,  378 
St.  Georges,  480 
St.  Jacques,  331 
St.  Michel,  376 
St.  Sulpice,  415 
du  Temple,  156 
du  Trocadéro,  453 
du  Trône,  246 
Vendôme,  439 
des  Victoires,  501 
des  Vosges,  177 
Point  du  Jour,  458 
Pont  d'Arcole,  227 
au  Change,  229 
de  la  Concorde,  436 
de  la  Grève,  227 
Neuf,  252 
Notre  Dame,  279 
Petit,  279 
aux  Pleurs,  252 
Royal,  288 
des  St    Pères,  386 
de  Solferino,  436 
de  la  Tournelle,  311 
Port  Royal  de  Paris,  325 
Porte  de  la  Cité,  279 

de  la  Conférence,  25 
St.  Denis,  488 
St.  Martin,  493 
de  la  Muette,  463 
de  St.  Paul,  193 
Post  Office,  502 
Pré  aux  Clercs,  421,  430 
Priory  of  St.  Martin  des  Champs, 

137 
Prison  de  l'Abbaye,  422 

de  la  Conciergerie,  269 

de  la  Force,  168 

de  Glaucin,  279 

des      Jeunes       détenus, 

239 

Mazas,  250 

Nouveau  Bicêtre,  237 

La  Roquette,  237 

St.  Firmin,  341 

St.  Lazare,  490 

St.  Pélagie,  313 
Provence,  La  Petite,  25     * 
Puits  d'Amour,  132 


Quai  d'Anjou,  311 

des  Augustins,  376 

de  Bourbon,  311 

des  Célestins,  205 

Conti,  395 

Henri  IV.,  207 

de  l'Horloge,  262, 

Malaquais,  386 

de  la  Mégisserie,  230 

des  Miramionnes,  312 

des  Orfèvres,  262 

d'Orsay,  436 

de  Passy,  456 

Voltaire,  386 
Quartier  Latin,  333 

de  St.  Paul,  193 

R. 

Restaurants,  14 

Rond  Point,  453 

Rue  de  l'Abbaye,  421 
d'Aboukir,  489 
des  An\andicrs,  345 
del'Ancienne  Comédie, 385 
des  Anglais,  337 
d'Anjou  St.  Honoré,  471 
de  l'Arbre  Sec,  112 
des  Archives,  145 
d'Argenteuil,  iio 
d'Arras,  342 
de  Babylone,  426 
du  Bac,  425 
des  Barrés,  197,  217 
de  la  Barillerie,  281 
de  Beautreillis,  203 
des  Bernardins,  339 
Bertin-Poirée,  230 
de  Béthizy,  113 
Bichat,  495 
de  Bièvre,  337 
des  Billettes,  145 
Bonaparte,  387,  418 
des  Bons  Enfants,  341 
du  Bouloi,  504 
des  Bourdonnais,  116 
de  Bourgogne,  430 
de  Boutebrie,  373 


INDEX 


529 


Rue  de  Braque,  141 
de  Bretagne,  157 
de  la  Bûcherie,  335,  336 
de  la  Calandre,  282 
des  Capucins,  329 
du  Cardinal  Lemoine,  340 
des  Carmes,  344 
Casimir  Périer,  430 
Cassette,  407 
de  Castiglione,  439 
de  la  Cerisaie,  203,  204 
Chabanais,  506 
des  Chanoinesses,  309 
Chante-Raine,  487 
des  Chantres,  309 
de  Charenton,  250 
Charlemagne,  216 
Charles  Cinq,  205 
de  Chariot,  145 
de  la  Charpenterie,  113 
de  Châteaudun,  480 
Chaume,  141 
Chaussée  d'Antin,  476 
du  Cherche-Midi,  424 
du  Chevet,  286 
des  Cholets,  358 
de  la  Cité,  279 
Claude  Bernard,  320 
de  Cléry,  502 
de  Clichy,  476 
Cloître  Notre  Dame,  309 
du  CIos-Georgeau,  509 
Clovis,  351 
Cocatrix,  287 
de  Colombier,  390 
de  la  Corderie,  146 
des  Coutures  St.  Gervais, 

158 
Cujas,  358 
Culture  St.  Catherine,  170, 

174 
du  Dauphin,  438 
Domat,  337 
de  la  Draperie,  281 
Drouot,  486 
Duphot,  442 
l'Ecole  de  Médecine,  380, 

384 
des  Ecoles,  333,  360 
de  l'Echelle,  iio 


Rue  des  Enfants  Rouges,  145 
d'Enfer,  321 

d'Enfer  (on  the  Island),  286 
de  l'Epée  de  Bois,  320 
du  Faubourg  St.  Antoine, 

246,  250 
Faubourg  St.  Denis,  490 
du  Faubourg  St.   Honoré, 
469 
St.      Martin, 

493 
Montmartre, 

487 
Poisson- 
nière,  486 
du    Temple, 

^^93 
Ferou,  407 

de  la  Ferronnerie,  129 
des  Feuillantines,  330 
de  Figuier,  210 
Fontaine,  481 

Molière,  509 
de  la  Fontenelle,  485 
des  Fossés  St.  Bernard,  341 

St  Victor,  341 
du  Fouarre,  336 
du  Four,  424 

des  Francs  Bourgeois,  165 
de  Gaillon,  507 
Galande,  336 
Garancière,  412 
Geoffroy  d'Asnier,  217 
Geoffroy-Marie,  487 
de  Glatigny,  284 
de  Grammont,  479 
du  Grand  Chantier,  145 
Grande  Truanderie,  132 
des  Grands  Augustins,  377 
de  la  Grange  Batelière,  487 
de  Gravilliers,  145 
Grégoire  de  Tours,  415 
de  Grenelle,  428,  429 
Grenelle  St.  Honoré,  iio 
de  Harlay,  258 
de  la  Harpe,  364,  376 
Hautefeuille,  378 
Hauteville,  486 
du  Haut  Pavé,  337 
Haxo,  494 


530 


INDEX 


Rue  de  l'Hirondelle,  377 
de  l'Homme  armé,  145 
Jacob,  390 

Jardins  St.  Paul,  216 
du  Jardinet,  379 
de  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau, 

iio 
du  Jour,  126 
de  Jouy,  217 

de  la  Juiverie,  279,  281,  282 
de  la  Jussienne,  126 
Laffitte,  479 
Lamarck,  483 
de  la  Lanterne,  279,  283 
Laplace,  345 
Larrey,  384 
de  Licorne,  282 
des  Lions,  203  • 

Lobinot,  415 
Louis  le  Grand,  476 
du  Louvre,  99 
de  Luxembourg,  442 
des  Maçons,  363 
du  Mail,  502 

du  Marché  Palu,  279,  283 
des  Marmousets,  284 
de  Martroy,  220 
Mathurin,  373 
Maubuée,  133,  135 
des  Mauvais  Garçons,  131 
Mazarin,  395 
de  la  Michodière,  477 
Mignon,  379 
des  Minimes,  176 
Monge,  333 

Monsieur  le  Prince,  406 
de  la  Montagne,  345 
Montmartre,  126,  486 
Montmqfency,  135 
Mont  Thabor,  439 
MoufFetard,  319 
des  Moulins,  478,  507 
Neuve  des  Petits  Champs, 

507 
Neuve  St.  Etienne,  488 

St.  Roch,  108 
de  Nevers,  395 
Nicole,  324 

des  Nonnains  d'Hyères,2i7 
de  Normandie,  177 


Rue  Notre   Dame   de   Lorette, 

480 
de  l'Oratoire,  m 
d'Orléans,  112 
de  la  Paix,  441 
de  Paradis,  141 
du  Parc  Royal,  178,  184 
de  la  Parcheminerie,  375 
Pas  de  Mule,  184 
Pavée,  168 
le  Peletier,  486 
de  la  Pelleterie,  280 
du  Petit  Bourbon,  406 
Petite  Truanderie,  132 
de  Picpus,  248,  249 
de  la  Planchette,  250 
Platrière,  iio 
de  Poissy,  339 
de  Ponthieu,  113 
Port  St.  Landry,  286     n  , 
Pot  de  Fer,  387 
des  Poulies,  112 
Pourtalés,  488 
des  Prouvaires,  116 
des  Pyramides,  iio 
Quincampoix,  133 
de  Rennes,  411 
de  Richelieu,  497 
de  Rivoli,  438 
du  Roi  de  Sicile,  175 
des  Rosiers,  485 
Royale,  474 

St.  André  des  Arts,  378 
St.  Anne,  506 
St.  Antoine,  189 
St.  Antonin,  189 
St.  Avoye,  139 
St.  Claude,  177 
St.  Dominique,  429 
St.  Denis,  131 

à    Montmartre, 
484 
St.  Etienne  des  Grès,  358 
St.  Faron,  131 
St.  Florentin,  441 
St.    Germain    l'Auxerrois, 

230 
St.  Hilaire,  344 
St.  Hippolyte,  315 
St.  Honoré,  116,  442 


INDEX 


531 


Rue  St.  Jacques,   320,   329,  330, 

331 
St.  Jean  de  Beauvais,  342 
St.  Landry,  285 
St.  Louis  aux  Marais,  175 
St.  Martin,  133 
de  St.  Paul,  193 
des  Sts.  Pères,  386 
St.  Pierre  aux  Bœufs,  286 
St.  Roch,  438 
de  Sartine,  iio 
Sauvai,  114 
Scipion,  314 
du  Sentier,  489 
Serpente,  379 
de  Sévigné,  170 
de  Sèvres,  425 
de  Sommerard,  365 
de  la  Sorbonne,  364 
Soufflet,  356 
de  Sully,  208 
du  Temple,  139,  145 
Thérèse,  508 
de  la  Tixeranderie,  131 
de  la  Tonnellerie,  12g 
des  Tournelles,  185 
de  Tournon,  406 
de  Tracy,  133 
du  Trahoir,  112 
Traversière,  509 
Tronchet,  474 
de  Turbigo,  127 
de  Turenne,  175 
de  l'Université,  429 
des  Ursins,  285,  309 
des  Ursulines,  330 
Val  de  Grâce,  324 
de  Valois,  510 
Vanneau,  428 
de  Varennes,  427 
de  Vaugirard,  407,  411 
de  Vendôme,  146 
de  Venise,  135 
de     la     Vieille     Draperie, 

281 
Vieille  du  Temple,  157 
des  Vieilles  Poulies,  166 
des  Vieux  Augustins,  126 
Visconti,  389,  413 
Vivienne,  496 


Rue  des  Vosges,  1S4 
de  la  Vrillière,  503 


Sainte  Chapelle,  273 

Salle  des  Pas  Perdus,  266 

Séminaire  St.  Firmin,  341 

St.  Magloire,  331 

Sérail  des  Mignons,  195 

Sorbonne,  360 

Square  du  Carrousel,  42 
du  Louvre,  42 

Statue  of  Bernard  Palissy,  421 
Charles  X.,  184 
Henri  IV,,  255,  256 
Jeanne  Darc,  iio 
Louis  XIIL,  184 
Louis  XIV.,  439,  502 
Montyon,  495 
Napoleon  L,  440 
Ney,  326 
Pascal,  228 
the  Republic,  496 
Voltaire,  339,  390 


T. 

Tavern,  Pomme  de  Pin,  282 
Temple,  the,  146 
Terrasse  des  Feuillants,  26 
Théâtre  de  Cluny,  373 
Français,  517 
des  Folies  Drama- 
tiques, 493 
de     l'Hôtel    de     Bour- 
gogne, 127 
de  rOdéen,  406 
du  Palais  Royal,  514 
Illustre,  198 
Tombeau  Napoléon,  432 
Tour  d'Argent,  263 
de  César,  263 
de  l'Horloge,  263 
de  Monlgommery,  263 
de  Nesle,  393 
de  St.  Geneviève,  352 
de  St.  Jacques,  227 
du  Temple,  147 


532 


INDEX 


Tournelles  Palais  des,  177 
Trocadéro,  Le,  453 
Tuileries,  the,  18 

U. 

Université,  333 

Catholique  de  Paris, 
411 


V. 

Val  de  Grâce,  320 
Vauvert,  321 
Villette,  La,  491 

W. 

Walls  of  Philippe  Auguste,  7, 
iio,  333,  341 


|}m  §,u0us1us  "é-  C.  |3arc. 


WALKS     IN      ROME 

Fourteenth  Edition.     775  [>p..  crown  8vo,  cloth,  $3.50. 


"  And  in  connection  with  tliese  explorationfl  "  (in  Koine  and  Ostia),  *'  we 
may,  with  propriety,  notice  a  work  recently  published  in  England  and  re- 
DubliBhed  here—'  Walks  in  Rome,'  by  Aii^stus  J.  C.  llare,  a  work  which 
1b  not  only  exhaustive  in  regard  to  the  Geography,  but  the  history,  incv 
aents,  and  lei^ends  of  Rome,  and  is  the  best  and  only  complete  guide  to  all 
its  places  of  interest  and  attraction.  This  is  high  praise,  but  it  is  deserved, 
and  is  corroborated  by  all  who  have  had  occasion  to  use  the  work."— Applb- 
ton'b  Ctolopkuia,  Article  on  Geographical  Explorations  and  Discoveries. 

"The  real  richness  of  Rome  as  well  as  its  interest  are  known  only  to  those 
who  stay  a  long  time  there  ;  but  for  such— or  even  for  those  whose  visit  is  a 
brief  one— we  know  no  single  work  that  can  replace  this  of  Mr.  Eare-  We 
tieartily  recommend  it  to  past  and  future  visitors  to  Rome  ;  they  will  find  it 
a  condensed  library  of  information  about  the   Eternal  City."— Atlantic 

MONTULf. 

"  The  book  is  to  be  impressively  recommended  to  those  who  are  going  to 
Rome  as  a  cram  ;  to  those  who  are  not  gciuè',  as  «n  exquisite  tale  ;  and  to 
those  who  have  been  there,  as  a  memorizer."  — Lippincott's  Magazine. 

"  No  one  who  has  over  been  to  Home,  no  one  who  hopes  to  get  there,  no 
intelligent  traveler  now  there,  can  afford  to  be  without  this  valuable  work 
on  the  most  noted  city  in  the  world's  history."— Hall's  Journal  o? 
Hbalth. 

"  It  is  the  most  complete  monograph  for  the  traveler  that  has,  we  think, 
ever  been  published.  It  is  a  cyclopedia  on  the  sights  of  Rome  ;  it  is  of 
interest  to  those  who  are  going,  and  to  those  who  have  returned  :  to  the  one 
as  '  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend  '—and  now  that  it  is  written,  no  sight- 
seer should  go  to  Rome  without  it— to  the  other  as  memento  ;  but  it  is,  fur- 
ther than  this,  so  generally  interesting,  that  few  will  find  it  other  than  de- 
lightful reading."— ErENLNQ  Mail. 

"  This  book  supplies  the  peculiar  sort  of  knowledge  which  the  traveler  in 
Eome  evi  lently  needs.  He  does  not  want  a  mere  ^ide-book  to  mark  the 
ocalities,  jr  a  more  compendious  history  to  recall  the  most  interesting  asso- 
ciations, /îe  wants  a  sympathetic  and  well-informed  friend  who  has  himaelf 
been  over  ^  he  places  described,  aud  has  appreciated  them  with  the  same 
mingled  sei.  Aments  of  Inquisitiveness,  reverence  and  inexplicable  histori- 
cal longing,  with  which  the  traveler  of  taste  must  approach  a  city  of  snoto 
vauit  and  het6rogeDeoas  attractions  as  Rome."— Westminstkb  Review. 


GEORGE    ROUTLEDGE   &   SONS.    NEW    YORK. 


is  Augustus  |(.  €.  fm. 


WALKS  IN  LONDON 

With  One  Hundred  Illustrations. 
Two  volumes,  12ino,  clotli,  $5;  the  two  volumes  in  one,  $3,50. 


"'Walks  in  London'  is  an  exceedingly  cbarming  book." — New  York 
Herald. 

"  Every  American,  fond  of  walking  and  sight-seeing,  who  intends  to  visit 
London,  should  buy  this  beautiful  book."— New  York  Journal  of  Com- 
merce. 

"Everybody  who  wishes  to  know  any  thing  about  the  great  city, 
everybody  who  wishes  to  refresh  his  memory  regarding  what  he  has  seen 
there,  and  particularly  every  one  who  has  the  prospect,  near  or  remote,  of 
visiting  London,  should^become  possessed  of  this  work. — Scotsman," 

"A  work  of  extreme  attractiveness.  Next  to  an  actual  visit  to  the  vast 
metropolis,  this  volume  is  in  every  way  calculated  to  afford  that  pleasure. 
Indeed,  the  careful  reader  of  this  work  will  obtain  a  larger  fund  of  informa- 
tion than  is  usually  acquired  by  European  tourists."— Graphic. 

"  The  man  who  goes  for  the  first  time  to  London  should  take  with  him 
the  new  book  called  '  Walks  in  London,'  by  Augustus  J.  C.  Hare.  It  is,  by 
all  odds,  the  pleasantest  and  most  instructive  hand-book  of  the  great  me- 
tropolis that  has  come  under  our  notice."— Puiladelphiv  Evening 
Bulletin. 

"We  can  vouch  that  months  of  residence  in  the  British  metropolis  fail 
to  impart  any  thing  like  the  keen  enjoyment  and  large  knowledge  of  what 
De  Quinccy  aptly  called  the  nation  of  London,  as  may  be  got  from  a  perusal 
of  Mr.  Hare's  recent  '  Walks  in  London.'  " — New  York  Sun. 

"It  is,  indeed,  a  most  delightful  reproduction  of  the  London  of  the  past 
which  appears  in  Mr.  Hare's  pages.  He  givps  the  cream  of  whole  libraries 
of  antiquarian  research  in  a  single  walk,  and  not  only  as  a  guide,  but  also 
as  a  storehouse  of  information  as  to  all  that  is  worth  seeing  and  knowing  of 
the  great  city,  his  book  is  inimitable.  We  know  nothing  to  compare  with, 
it."— Buffalo  Courier. 

"  It  would  be  difiicult  to  find  in  any  encyclopaedia  an  ampler  or  more 
fully  digested  collection  of  all  the  important  facts  relating  to  the  ancient 
capital  ;  yet  the  work  is  quite  as  entertaining  as  an  ordinary  novel,  and  a 
tithe  of  the  '  good  stories  '  which  it  contains  would  set  up  a  professional 
diner-out  for  life.  .  .  .  It  possesses  all  the  merits  of  a  guide  book,  with 
one  additional  merit  which  no  guide-book  ever  possessed  yet — that  of  being 
readable  throughout. "--New  York  Times. 


GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS.  NEW  YORK 


AUGUSTUS  J.  C.  HARE'S 

FLORENCE— VENICE. 


"  Florence  "and  "  Venice,"  by  Auijuptus  J.  C.  Hare,  from  the  oesthetic  point 
of  view,  are  modeit?.  The  contents  are  divided  in  the  usual  way  according  to 
localities  or  "•  excursions,"  and  include  all  ot  note  that  a  man  of  taste  would 
need  to  know  in  reirard  to  the  historic  and  artistic  treasures  of  these  cities. 
The  volumes  are  illustrated  and  are  furnished  with  maps  and  indexes.''— 
The  Nation. 

•'Those  who  have  found  in  Mr.  Hare's '•  Walks  in  Rome"  and  his  other 
manuals  so  refreshin<r  a  relief  from  the  monotonous  matier-ol-factof  the  guide- 
book, will  welcome  the  two  ai tractive  volumes  on  Venice  and  Florence,  which 
have  just  been  added  to  the  author's  topographical  series.  Mr.  Hare  takes  his 
reader  throush  the  streets,  palaces,  galleries,  wherever,  in  feet,  there  is  any- 
thing to  reveal  what  has  made  these  cities  great,  and  what  still  renders  them  the 
most  attractive  spots  in  Europe."— Boston  Advertiser, 

"  Charming  is  the  word  to  be  used  in  characterizing  these  books.  The  plan 
is  in  general  that  of  the  earlier  "  Walks  in  Rome,"  and  the  cities  are  described 
in  a  series  of  excursions  whose  details  not  only  give  a  vast  deal  of  information 
as  to  things  aud  places,  but  are  enriched  by  a  store  of  historical,  literary,  critical 
ami  anecdotal  knowledge.  Each  of  the  volumes  is  furnished  with  a  map  com- 
prehensive enough  for  the  uses  of  the  traveler."— l<PRl^ti^IELU  Replblican. 

"  Those  who  have  read  ''Walks  in  London  ''  will  need  no  commendation  to 
Venice— Floie nee.  It  is  a  rare  delight  to  read  a  book  written  by  a  man  of  broad 
and  ripe  culture.  Mr.  Hare's  "Walks  about  London  "  has  long  had  the  deserved 
reputation  of  being  incomparably  the  best  guide  to  that  world's  metropolis  ; 
his  guide-books  to  Italy,  though  less  known  on  this  side  of  the  water,  are  hardly 
infi-rior  ;  and  these  two  volumes  are  worthy  companions  to  their  predecessors." 
—Christian  Union. 

"These  two  books,  by  a  competent  author,  well  printed,  and  with  a 
good  index,  should  be  popular  among  all  who  desire  to  visit  intelligently  the 
two  cities  whose  name?  they  bear.  They  are  compact  and  brief,  but  they  omit 
nothing  which  the  traveler  needs  to  see,  and  they  give  an  intelligent  criticism 
upon  many  of  the  chief  objects  of  antiquity  and  art  that  come  under  his  obser- 
vation. There  are  colored  ))lans  of  the  two  cities,  and  occasional  illustrations. 
The  author's  "Walks  in  Rome"  and  "Days  near  Rome  "had  proven  his 
qualifications  to  treat  of  the  Queen  of  the  Adriatic  and  the  City  of  the  Arno." 
—Churchman, 

"Mr.  Hare  has  entered  into  the  themes  of  these  volumes,  Venice  and 
Florence,  with  the  enthusiasm  which  they  sucgest,  and  with  an  uncon.mon 
degree  of  knowledge.  The  reading  of  these  books  is  a  pleasure,  for  if  they  were 
undertaken  as  a  task  the  writing  of  them  must  have  soon  become  a  delight  to 
Mr.  H.ire.  There  i>»  a  world  of  charming  reading  in  them,  drawn  from  the  pages 
of  those  who  have  written  about  these  romantic  old  cities — poets,  travelers,  his- 
torians, critics— and  the  next  best  thing  to  being  in  their  noble  halls  and 
palaces,  hallowed  with  the  memory  of  a  thousand  years,  is  to  be  there  in  spirit, 
as  one  cannot  but  be  with  such  an  arcomplisbed  tr'-ntleman  and  learned  scholar 
as  Mr.  Hare  fcr  h,s  giiide.''— N.  Y.  Maii,  anu  Express. 


GEORGE    ROUTLEDGE   &    SOiNS.    NEW  YORK. 


AUGUSTUS   J.    C.    HARE'S   WORKS. 

STUDIES  IN    RUSSIA. 

WITH    MANY   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

In  Mr.  Augustus  J.  C.  Hare's  book,  "  Studies  in  Russia,"  we  have 
a  work  cf  permanent  value,  which  has  not  been  hurriedly  put  forth 
to  catch  the  possible  advantage  of  any  war  agitation.  There  are  few 
countries  where  Englishmen  travel  less  than  in  Russia,  and  books 
such  as  this  are  not  common.  The  illustrations  are  admirable. — 
Book  Bî^ycr,  A'.  Y. 

12mo.    Cloth,    $2.00. 

WANDERINGS  IN  SPAIN. 

WITH    i6  FULL   PAGE   ILLUSTR.\TIONS. 

l2mo.    Cloth,    $!.25. 

'■'■  Mr.  Hare's  book  is  admirable.  V.'e  are  sure  no  one  will  regret 
making  it  the  companion  of  a  vSpanish  journey.  It  will  bear  reading 
repeatedly  when  one  is  moving  among  the  scenes  it  describes — no 
small  advantage  when  the  traveling  library  is  scanty." — Saturday 
Review. 

"  Here  is  the  ideal  book  of  travel  in  Spain  ;  the  book  which  exactly 
anticipates  the  requirements  of  everybody  who  is  fortunate  enough  to 
be  going  to  that  enchanted  land  ;  the  book  v.hich  ably  consoles  those 
who  are  not  so  happy  by  supplying  the  imagination  from  the  daintiest 
and  most  delicious  of  its  stories." — Spectator. 

"  Since  the  publication  of  "  Castillan  Days,"  by  the  American  dip- 
lomat, Mr.  John  Hay,  no  pleasanter  or  more  readable  sketches  have 
fallen  under  our  notice." — Athenccjun. 

GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS,  NEW  YORK. 


AUGUSTUS  .1.  C.  HARE'S 

Cities  of  ooiithern  Italy  and  Sicily. 

With  Illustrations.  i2mo,  Cloth.  $2.50. 

"  Mr.  Hare's  name  will  be  a  sufficient  passport  for  the  popularity  of  his  new 
work.  His  books  on  the  Cities  of  Italy  are  fast  becominj^-  as  indispensable  to 
the  traveller  in  that  part  of  the  country  as  the  guide-books  of  Murray  or  of 
Baedeker.  .  .  His  book  is  one  which  we  should  advise  all  future  travellers 
in  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily  to  find  room  for  in  their  portmanteaus." — 
Ac.\DE.My. 

"  We  regard  the  volume  as  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment  of  a  traveller 
in  Southern  Italy  ;  if  he  goes  without  it  he  will  miss  the  most  thorough  and 
most  helpful  book  that  has  treated  it.  The  part  devoted  to  Sicily  is  especially 
full  of  interest  ;  and  we  should  not  omit  to  make  mention  of  the  e.xquisite  lit- 
tle woodcuts  done  from  Mr.  Hare's  water-colors  executed  on  the  spot." — 
British  Quarteklv  Review. 

"  Of  all  the  volumes  published  for  the  instruction  and  delight  of  travellers, 
those  of  Augustus  J.  C.  Hare  are  the  best  on  many  accounts.  They  are  not 
mere  directories  or  catalogues.  They  are  full  of  human  life  and  interest. 
Mr.  Hare  is  the  ideal  tourist,  who  is  interested  in  art,  architecture,  literature, 
natural  history,  and  all  the  sciences,  to  the  extent  of  not  being  wearisome,  but 
of  gilding  whatever  he  touches  with  the  light  of  his  own  knowledge  and  en- 
thusiasm. .  .  .  Wherever  he  has  gone  with  note-book  in  hand,  he  has  not 
failed  to  jot  down  those  objects  which  repay  the  trouble  of  inspection,  and  to 
tell  about  them  all  that  is  worth  knowing.  His  '  Studies  in  Russia,'  his 
'Wanderings  in  Spain,'  his  '  Sketches  in  Holland  and  Scandinavia,' and  his 
'  Cities  of  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily,'  show  him  as  much  at  home  in  those 
widely  separated  countries  as  in  his  own  London.'" — New  York  Journal  of 
Commerce. 


AUGUSTUS  J.  C.  HARE'S 
Sketches  in 

Holland    and    Scandinavia. 

With  33  Illustrations.     i2mo,  Cloth,  i^Loo. 

"This  little  work  is  the  best  companion  a  visitor  to  these  countries  can 
have,  while  those  who  stay  at  home  can  also  read  it  with  pleasure  and  profit." 
— Gi..\SGow  Her.m.d. 

"  Will  be  popular  for  its  handy  size  and  light  manner.  Without  being 
strikingly  amusing,  it  is  yet  never  wearisome.  .  .  .  His  notes  of  travel  in 
Norway  are  very  tempting  to  tourists  attracted  to  the  north." — London  Art 

JOCKN.M.. 


GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS,  NEW  YORK 


'\v  Augustus  ^.  €.  Bare. 


MEMORIALS  OF  A  QUIET  LIFE. 

\\^ith    Two    Steel    Poi-traits. 

Two  volumes,  12mo,  cloth,  $.5.00.     Two  volumes  in  One,  12mo, 
cloth,  $  3.00. 


"  If  it  is  a  splendid  service  to  men  to  make  the  way  of  duty  look  to  them  as  the 
way  of  joy,  to  clothe  the  common  drudgeries  of  obedience  in  garments  of  beauty, 
to  render  household  routine  sacred,  and  self-sacrifice  attractive,  then  no  ordinary 
ho.ior  belongs  to  these  '  Memorials  of  a  Quiet  Life.'  "  —  Bishop  Huntixgton. 

"  We  are  far  from  using  the  language  of  mere  conventional  eulogy  when  we  say 
that  this  is  a  book  which  will  cause  every  right-minded  reader  to  feel  not  only  the 
happier,  but  the  better."  —  Conservative. 

"  The  name  of  Hare  is  one  deservedly  to  be  honored  ;  and  in  these  '  Memorials,' 
•which  are  as  true  and  satisfactory  a  biography  as  it  is  possible  to  write,  the  author 
places  his  renders  in  the  heart  of  the  family,  and  allows  them  to  see  the  hidden 
sources  of  life  and  love  by  which  it  was  nourished  and  sustained."  —  Athen^um. 

"  One  of  those  books  which  it  is  impossible  to  read  without  pleasure.  It  con- 
veys a  sense  of  repose  not  unlike  that  which  everybody  must  have  felt  out  of  ser- 
vice-time in  quiet  little  village  churches.  Its  editor  will  receive  the  hearty  thanks 
of  every  cultivated  reader  for  these  profoundly  interesting  '  IMemorials  '  of  two 
brothers,  whose  names  and  labors  their  universities  and  church  have  alike  reason 
to  cherish  with  affection  and  remember  with  pride,  who  have  smoothed  the  path 
of  faith  to  so  many  troubled  wayfarers,  strengthening  the  weary  and  confirming 
the  weak."  —  Stand.\rd. 

"  The  book  is  rich  in  insight  and  in  contrast  of  character.  It  is  varied  and  full 
of  episodes  which  few  can  fail  to  read  with  intere.«t  ;  and,  as  exhibiting  the  senti- 
ments and  thoughts  of  a  very  influential  circle  of  minds  during  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, it  may  be  said  to  have  a  distinct  historical  value."  —  Nonconfor.mist. 

"  A  charming  book,  simply  and  gracefully  recording  the  events  of  a  simple  and 
gracious  life.     Its  connection  with  the  beginning  of  a  great  movement  in  the  Eng- 
lish Church  will  make  it  to  the  thoughtful  reader  more  profoundly  suggestive  than  ' 
many  biographies  crowded  and  bustling  with  incident.    It  is  almost  the  first  of  a  | 
class  of  books  the  Christian  world  just  now  greatly  needs,  showing  how  the  spir-  r 
itual  life  was  maintained  amid  the  shaking  of  religious  'opinions  '  ;  how  the  life  | 
of  the  soul  deepened  as  the  thoughts  of  the  mind  broadened  ;  and  how,  in  their 
union,  the  two  formed  a  volume  of  larger  and  more  thoroughly  vitalized  Christian  ! 
idea  than  the  English  people  had  witnessed  for  many  days."  —  Glasgow  Herald.     ' 


GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS,  NEW  YORK. 


En  route  for  Tarascon  ! — The  Lake  of  Geneva. 
— Tartariît  suggests  a  visit  to  Bon?iivard's 
cell. — A  short  dialogue  amid  the  roses. — All 
the  band  uTider  lock  and  key. — The  unfor- 
tunate Bonnivard. — A  certaifi  rope  made  in 
Avignon  comes  to  light. 

After  the  ascent,  Tartarin's  nose  peeled 
and  became  pimpled,  his  cheeks  cracked. 
He  was  obhged  to  remain  in  his  room  for 
five  days  at  the  Belle  Vue.  Five  days  of  com- 
presses, pomades  of  which  he  whiled  away 
the  cloying  mawkishness  and  boredom  by 
making  little  whist  parties  with  the  delegates, 


Press  Notices  of 


Tartarin  on  the  Alps, 


"  The  story  is  constructed  with  wonderful  verisimilitude,  and  the 
central  character  stands  out  with  life-like  vividness.  The  book  has  an- 
other charm  in  the  excellent  series  of  illustrations  with  which  its  pages 
are  adorned.  These  are  dainty  vignettes  done  in  a  most  attractive  style. 
They  are  all  of  them  exceedingly  delicate,  well  finished  and  charming  in 
themselves  ;  but  they  possess  in  a  far  more  than  ordinary  degree  the 
special  merit  of  illustrating  and  elucidating  the  story,  the  spirit  of  which 
is  caught  with  perfect  sympathy.  The  book  is  a  luxurious  morsel  of 
literature." — Edinburgh  Scotsman. 

''The  charm  of  Alphonse  Daudet' s  romance  is  due  very  largely  to  the 
author's  humorous  treatment  of  the  materials  of  his  story.  His  satire  is 
of  a  delicate  and  exquisite  character;  never  venomed  and  always  merry." 
— Manchester  {England)  Courier. 

"  Mr.  Henry  Frith's  version  of  M.  Daudet's  Tartarin  sur  les  Alpes  differs 
from  most  translations  from  the  French  in  reproducing  the  original  with 
the  closest  exactitude,  even  to  the  cover  and  the  whole  of  the  delightful 
illustrations."— /SaiM?'(Zay  Review,  London. 

"  The  English  reader  will  be  grateful  for  a  translation  of  this  humorous 
book  by  Henry  Frith,  with  the  charmingly  characteristic  illustrations  of 
the  artists  whose  woi'k  adorned  the  original  edition." — Illustrated  London 
N^ews. 

''  Alphonse  Daudet's  tale  of  Tartarin  on  the  Alps  is  doubly  amusing.  It 
contains  a  lively  picture  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  French  provincial  to\vn, 
and  a  still  livelier  account  of  modern  Swiss  travel.  .  .  .  The  story  is 
told  with  much  subtle  humor.  .  .  .  The  numerous  illustrations  are 
of  a  very  superior  character."— DMH(?<?e  (Scotlajid)  Advertiser. 

"As  might  have  been  expected  from  the  names  of  the  author,  illustra- 
tors and  publishers,  this  book  is  a  thing  of  beauty.  The  illustrations 
especially  are  of  marvellous  delicacy,  and  though  the  range  is  necessarily 
limited,  the  variety  of  them  is  great.  The  book  itself  is  a  most  amusing 
burlesque  of  the  unveracious  gasconading  to  which  their  hot  blood  impels 
the  natives  of  the  South  of  Yva.nce.'"'— Glasgow  Herald. 

"  The  illustrations  are  full  of  delicate  characterization,  of  sharp  satire, 
of  artistic  grace  and  skill  ;  the  page  is  narrow  and  admirably  broken  up  by 
a  great  variety  of  small  cuts,  and  the  typography  leaves  nothing  to  be 
desired.  It  is  a  long  time  since  so  complete  and  fascinating  a  work  has 
come  from  the  press."- T/ie  Jhok  Buyer,  New  York. 


George  Routledge  &  Sons,  New  York  and  London. 


Tartarin  on  the  Alps 


137 


left  hand  ;  and  at  each  turn  of  the  carriage, 
streams,  and  valleys,  from  which  uprose 
church  steeples,  were  seen  ;  and  in  the  distance 
the  showy  peak  of  the  Finsteraarhorn  sparkled 
in  the  beams  of  the  invisible  sun. 

After   a   while    the    rond  became  sliaded,  ^  L%  ■>>■ 


^Mr- 


l^iSP^- 


and  of  a  wilder  aspect.  On  one  side  was 
gloomy  shadow,  a  chaos  of  trees  i)lanted  on 
the  slope,  twisted  and  irregular,  amongst 
which  the  splashing  of  a  torrent  was  audible  : 
on  the  right  an  immense  rock  overhung  the 
path,  bristling  with  branches  which  sprung 
from  the  crevices  in  its  sides.' 

They  were  not  laughing  in  the  landau  now  : 

F  2 


Press  Notices  of 


La  Belle  Nivernaise. 


''It  is  charmingly  and  gracefully  wrought  out,  with  a  freshness  of  feel- 
ing that  is  more  common  among  French  than  English  writers,  and  a 
mingled  pathos  and  heartiness  that  are  delightful.  The  illustrations  in 
these  little  stories  are  such  as  are  possible  only  with  French  pencils  and 
French  printing." — R.  R.  Stoddard  in  N.  T.  Mail  and  Express. 

"  In  this  volume  there  are  the  finer  beauties  of  Daudet's  work,  the 
humanity,  the  sympathy,  the  pathos,  which  have  caused  comparison  with 
Dickens,  even  more  than  his  humor  has." — Springfield  Republican. 

"     ...     Daudefs  sweet  and  brilliant  short  story,  '  La  Belle  Niver- 
naise,' a  lovely  bit  of  real  life  in  the  author's  most  delicate  vein    .     .     . 
worthy  the  most  refined  and  the   most  imaginative   of  living  French 
masters  of  fiction." — Saturday  Evening  Gazette,  Boston. 

"  Simple  idyllic  and  absolutely  unaff acted.  If  one  were  not  absorbed 
by  the  charm  of  the  style,  he  would  wonder  how  the  interest  could  be 
held  by  such  a  slight  chain  of  incidents.'' — Albany  Argus. 

"  These  stories  are  excellent  examples  of  the  peculiar  genius  of  Daudet 
who  must  be  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  living  novelists.  He 
has  been  called  the  legitimate  successor  of  Balzac,  yet  his  is  a  different 
kind  of  realism  ;  it  is  a  picture  more  lightly  touched  that  he  gives  us,  with 
less  depth,  it  may  well  be,  and  less  earnestness  of  conviction  ;  but  the 
graphic  hand  of  the  artist  is  felt  in  every  line." — Boston  Traveller. 

"Is  one  of  the  most  charming  books  of  the  year.  .  .  .  Daudet  hao 
given  in  this  simple  story  another  proof  of  his  versatility  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  humanity.  There  is  a  natural,  simple,  healthy  tone  about  the 
book  which  is  at  variance  with  the  usual  notions  about  French  novels. 
.  .  .  .  The  illustrations  are  a  triumph  of  the  pictorial  art.  One  seldom 
sees  a  book  where  the  match  between  text  and  illustrations  is  a  more 
equal  one." — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

"  '■  La  Belle-Nivernaise  '  contains,  besides  the  long  story  which  gives  its 
title  to  the  volume,  four  of  the  author's  shorter  stories,  which  are  always 
pleasant  to  read  and  sometimes  delightful.  .  .  .  One  of  the  stories 
translated  is  among  the  best  of  the  legends  of  his  native  south  which 
he  tells  so  well:  'Les  trois  messes  basses,' with  its  fantastic  pictures, 
is  altogether  charming.  The  material  execution  of  the  books  is  excellent. 
No  translator's  name  is  given  to  either,  but  the  versions  seem  to  be  as  well 
done  as  it  would  be  reasonable  to  expect  Avhen  the  originals  are  by  a  writer 
so  striking  and  individual  as  Alphonse  Daudet." — New  York  Evening  Post. 

George  Routledge  &  Sons,  A^ew  York  and  London. 


"" 'fflir 


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is  tlje  §ulu  of  ^rgnll. 

THE    REIGN    OF    LAW 

Essays  on  Divine  Government. 

With  Illustmtions.     12mo,  cloth,  $  2.00. 


"  A  very  able  book,  well  adapted  to  meet  that  spirit  of  inquiry  which  is 
abroad,  and  which  the  increase  of  our  knowledge  of  natural  things  stimulates  so 
remarkably.  It  opens  up  many  new  lines  of  thought,  and  expresses  many  deep 
and  suggestive  truths.  It  is  very  readable  ;  and  there  are  few  books  in  which  a 
riioughtful  reader  will  find  more  that  he  will  desire  to  remember." —London 

TiME.S. 

"  This  is  in  its  way  a  masterly  book Nothing  can  be  abler  than  the  way 

ill  which  the  Duke  of  Argyll  disentangles  and  illustrates  the  various  uses  of  the 
woi-d  '  Law  '  in  its  scientific  sense,  and  shows  how  much  it  really  means,  whaf 
false  meanings  have  been  put  upon  it,  and  what  are  the  scientific  reasons  for 

n-jecting  these  false  meanings The  book  is  strong,  sound,  mature,  able 

tiiought  from  its  first  page  to  its  last."  —  London  Spectator. 

''  The  Duke  of  Argyll's  '  Reign  of  Law  '  is  written  with  admirable  clearness. 
His  criticism  of  Mr.  Darwin,  in  the  chapter  entitled  '  Creation  by  Law,'  is  a  model 
of  perspicuity  and  neatness."'  — The  Chronicle. 

"  We  think  it  would  be  a  profitablcenterprise  for  some  American  publisher  to 
reprint  this  book.     It  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  class  published  in  recent  times. 
.  .  The  author  contributes  to  the  illustrations  of  design  in  nature  an  interest- 
ing discussion  of  the  •  machinery  of  flight  '  in  the  wings  of  birds,  and  by  this  and 
other  scientific  matters  makes  his  book  a  very  readable  one."  —  The  Nation. 

"  This  volume  is  a  remarkable  work,  in  which  the  logical  sufficiency  of  the  argu- 
ments is  equal  to  the  perspicuity  with  which  they  ax-e  stated.  The  style  is  simple 
and  clear,  and  not  without  eloquence,  and  the  aptness  and  variety  of  the  illustra- 
tions are  striking."  —  The  Evening  Post. 

*'  This  is  a  very  great  book  ;  great,  because,  while  treating  of  the  most  profound 
subject  of  human  thought,  it  can  be  read  with  comfort  by  those  whom  Mr.  Lincoln 
called  '  plain  people.'  "  — The  Round  Table. 


GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS,  NEW  YORK. 


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